Suits, Mascots and Kidnappings…Oh My…
by TigreMalabarista
Summary: A harmless prank nearly ends in tragedy when Ralph realizes that his life in the suit might affect someone he loves.
1. Chapter 1

Summary: A harmless prank nearly ends in tragedy when Ralph realizes that his life in the suit might affect someone he loves. Set after "Vanity, Says the Preacher."

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It was a cool Thursday afternoon in October at Whitney High School. The students were buzzing with excitement, as the next day was the homecoming game and it was against one of Whitney's biggest rivals Burtonville High School. This year's match was especially exciting as this would be the first meeting of these teams since Burtonville beat Whitney out of the district championship last year.

Ralph Hinkley, principal at Whitney walked down the hallways between the last class change of the day and smiled. The hallways were decorated with blue and gold signs, footballs and streamers… the whole nine yards. Several of the students even took part in dressing up in school colors most of the week. …

"Though some go overboard," thought Ralph with a smile as he saw his goddaughter, Aidan, putting up her books for the day in her locker. She had indeed gone a tad overboard with her outfit. Aidan wore a Whitney High School volleyball shirt, slightly cropped pair of jeans dyed in the school colors of blue and gold, giving a slight tie-dye effect to the jeans. Colorfully stenciled footballs and pompons had been added to this unique display topped off with blue and gold socks that peeked just over a set of old lace up boots - complete with blue and gold pompons and shoelaces - she found at a thrift store.

Ralph chuckled to himself as he continued towards his goddaughter when he saw she even managed to make the blue and gold crow bead anklet wide enough to go around the boot. He had to give her some credit though at showing some restraint and didn't wear her hair in puppy dog ears and pompons like she did her junior year…

"Last year," he thought with a slightly wistful smile. To him, it seemed almost yesterday the young woman had moved from Casper, Wyoming to Los Angeles to live with him and Pam after her parents died. While the couple adopted Aidan, to Ralph she was his little girl. And now, he sighed, with her being a senior, it was not too long before graduation and then…

"Hello, Ra… uh Mr. Hinkley," said Aidan quickly correcting herself and snapping Ralph out of his thoughts. He hid his embarrassment at being caught daydreaming by running a hand through his hair and looking at his feet then back up at the teen standing in front of him. Ralph had to smile at Aidan's slight mistake; he knew she always had trouble calling her godfather by his title at school, as he did not want the students to think he was playing favorites.

"You doing all right?" Aidan asked slightly concerned. Anytime he seemed lost in thought like that, it usually meant her Uncle Bill was not that far behind, ready to pull her godfather off to another "errand" as he put it. She never understood the friendship between the two. How did a school teacher, now principal, and an FBI agent become friends anyway…

Aidan shook the question and any thoughts of Bill Maxwell away when she heard Ralph laugh. "Yep, just admiring your… outfit," he said waving his hand at the odd display of clothes. "I'm surprised Pam let you get away with this. Or even out of the house for that matter."

Aidan laughed. "She almost didn't, but with some negotiations tactics she did and I won…but with one stipulation."

"Oh you did huh…and what was that?" Ralph asked raising his eyebrows and smiled knowing Aidan was as good as Pam in making deals and pleading cases.

Aidan gave a smug smile pretending to have made the deal of the century while placing the last of her books in the locker. "Yep, Pam agreed to let me out of the house as long as I didn't wear my hair up in puppy dog ears," she said, smiling.

Ralph chuckled as the young woman closed the door to her locker. "Besides, that's for tomorrow before the game," Aidan said with a chuckle and turned the combination lock. She then turned back to face the man she loved just as much as her real father. "Well I'm done for the day. Was there anything you needed help with before I started work on the last banner for the pep rally tomorrow?"

"Nope," Ralph shook his head looking at his watch before looking back at Aidan, "I have a meeting in about 10 minutes and need to talk to the security for tomorrow's game," he said as the class bell rang. "So, do you have your mum yet?"

"It's still at the florist's, but it looks great. Thanks for getting one I could wear on my arm this year," she said. "I had too much trouble wearing the corsage one last year in the mascot suit."

Ralph nodded as the two started walking toward the gym. "You're welcome Ade, though I have to admit it was rather … graceful when our mascot pranced around after a touchdown only to trip on the mum streamers and crash into the megaphones," he laughed. "But I'm sure our senior mascot won't do that again this year?"

"Nope, not with it on my arm," Aidan chuckled stopping in the breezeway between the buildings and looked at her watch. "OK, I'd better get a move on here. Have fun in your meeting."

"Oh… I will," said Ralph, rolling his eyes slightly. Aidan smiled and, after giving him a brief hug, headed toward the gym.

Watching his goddaughter enter the hallway to the gym, Ralph rubbed his hands together and raised his eyebrows with a slight mischievous grin as he thought about "the meeting." The "important meeting" was not anything in regard to the welfare of Whitney High, instead, it was with three students from Burtonville High School and a certain prank the rival schools played every other year.

This particular prank involved the "kidnapping" of the rival's mascot and holding them for ransom before the game.

According to the unspoken rules set up between the principles Burtonville and Whitney, the day of the game the "kidnappers" from both schools blindfolded the other mascot and drove them to their school, then held them in a room until an hour before the game, when they'd be brought to the stadium. The principals would then pay off the kidnappers with pizza or whatever food they wanted and at the half, the two mascots returned safely and relatively unharmed, to their proper sidelines.

Walking toward his office, Ralph smiled at how he set this up with his fellow principal at Burtonville. Ralph made it clear that because Whitney's mascot was female - not to mention his goddaughter - this year there had to be at least one female kidnapper to keep an eye on her. Burtonville's principal agreed, and arranged for the Burtonville kidnappers to be members of the student government instead of football players, which was usually the case.

When he arrived, Ralph saw three students in the office - two men, one woman - wearing red shirts, which clearly marked then as students from the rival school. Seeing his secretary give a slightly inquisitive look - as none of the students were allowed on their rival's school grounds during the week, Ralph gave a wink, hinting what it was about. Remembering this was an odd year, the secretary smiled and nodded.

Ralph then turned to the three students from Burtonville and smiled. "Welcome to Whitney High School. Won't you come in to my office?" he said. The three nodded and they all went into the principal's office, closing the door behind them.

Ralph then turned to the three students from Burtonville and smiled. "Welcome to Whitney High School. Won't you come in to my office?" he said rubbing his hands together then pointing towards his office. The three nodded and they all went into the principal's office, closing the door behind them.

Whitney's principal turned around and smiled. "So, you must be the kidnappers for this year right?" he asked. The three nodded and the tallest of the three teens stepped forward.

"Yes sir, Mr. Hinkley," he answered holding his hand out to the principal. "My name's Rodney Jameston, and these," Rodney pointed to the other teens "are my cohorts, Lisa Bearington and Quinton Everett."

"OK, glad to meet you all," Ralph greeted them shaking each of their hands, then leaned against the edge of his desk. "Now, as you know our school has a female wearing the mascot uniform, and yours is a male. Because this year it's a she and she's my goddaughter," he said, emphasizing the last point by placing a hand to his chest as he looked at the three teens, "I wanted to know what you had planned as well just so I know she won't get hurt."

The teens exchanged glances hesitant to reveal the plans, as they had not heard of Whitney's plans involving their mascot. Ralph, sensing the reason for their hesitation smiled and continued. "Of course, we're going to tell you what we plan for your mascot as well," he stated then straightened walking around his desk and sitting down in his chair.

Rodney smiled as he took off his jacket and laid it over a chair. He had already chatted with Ralph earlier with the basics of the setup for the kidnapping. Having seen Aidan in the hallways, even if a bit eccentric in dress, he could understand why Ralph was protective of his goddaughter. She was, in his eye, cute and obviously loved her family and school….

Blushing slightly at the distraction, Rodney shook his head, clearing it. "All right, here's what we are going to do. We plan to kidnap Aidan first thing tomorrow afternoon when she's at gym. After we blindfold her, we will take her over to Burtonville. Once there she'll stay in one of the math classrooms until it's time for the game. At that time, as you know, we will then meet back here and have both Aidan and Wes use the locker rooms near the football field so they can put on their mascot costumes, and then each will stay on the rival's side until the half."

Ralph nodded. "Sounds good, and I'm guessing you already know the ransom?"

"Yep, but we're not saying yet Mr. Hinkley." Lisa spoke up this time answering the question, knowing Ralph had yet to give Whitney's demands and none would be exchanged until one was given. "But, we also know you haven't asked Burtonville," she finished with a chuckle.

"You're right…" Ralph leaned forward onto his desk folding his hands in front of him and feigning ignorance, even though he already knew they had not given the demand yet either and hoped he could trick them into revealing more of what the ransom would be.

"Well it sounds like everything is set," Hinkley said with a sigh, satisfied that this year's Biennial Mascot Kidnapping would go off with out a hitch. At least he hoped Ralph thought, standing up from his chair. The three teens also stood up as Ralph continued. "But, just remember to check in at the office when you first arrive on campus tomorrow. While most of the teachers know about this prank, some of the newer ones don't quite get it, and might call your school - or the police - and have you arrested," Ralph finished opening the office door.

The third boy of the group answered this time "We're going to be sure everything's done properly," said Quinton. "We don't want to ruin this for future classes."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that," said the blond-haired man as he checked his watch. "Listen, you better head on out. If any of the students see you here, they might warn Aidan and she might avoid her classes tomorrow. She already mentioned she thought this was the year for the prank, and was nervous about it." He finished showing the others out.

"Don't worry, Mr. Hinkley," Rodney chuckled turning back to Whitney's principal. "Aidan will be in safe hands," he said, shaking Ralph's hand and knocking his letterman jacket to the floor forgotten by the teen and unseen by the rest of the group. After the other two students shook hands, the trio left, leaving Ralph alone in the office.

Ralph walked back to his desk and sat back down, not noticing the fallen jacket. Leaning back in his chair he looked at the photos on his desk. Some of them were of him and Pam before Aidan came into their lives, some were all three of them, and one was Aidan's senior photo in the Cavalier costume.

He smiled softly, picking up the picture of Aidan in her costume and running a hand over the edge of the frame. Ralph had to admit, Aidan was one of the few students in recent history that had a complete respect for the uniform. She would mend it if it was torn, and even offered to pay for it to be cleaned. Ralph smiled when he remembered the day Aidan had earned the position on the cheer squad and how she said she was wearing a suit of honor. …

Sometimes, he felt the same way with a suit of his own… even if he felt the green guys who gave it to him could've studied Earth better and made it something other than long johns and a cape.

"But, it's better she doesn't know about that costume," he said softly placing the photo back. While the three were close and shared many secrets, the suit had been one of the few things he had not mentioned. He did not want to ever put Aidan in harm's way because of it. So far, he had been lucky, and he wanted it to stay that way.

Ralph shook the thought about the suit out of his mind and smiled, deciding that this was a time to have fun, especially since it was Aidan's senior year. "Tomorrow will be a day she'll never forget," he chuckled, picking up the phone so he could talk with the police department about security for the next day's game.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day was an exciting one for the school. The students were all decked out in school colors and the cafeteria was a buzz with chatter about the night's game.

Aidan sat down at the lunch table with her tray and sighed slightly at what was on it. "I like hamburgers, but does it have to be every Friday," she mumbled to herself. Shaking her head in slight amusement at the school's apparent lack of menu of variety, Aidan shrugged off her blue and gold cardigan, revealing the cheerleading outfit that she wore underneath.

During the day on Fridays, Aidan wore her cheer camp outfit during the day, which was a cheerleading top with the same design as the cheerleaders. The only difference was instead of a skirt, she wore a pair of blue cheerleading shorts with a pair of gold stripes running down the outside of each pants leg

Looking at her cardigan, Aidan traced her name embroidered on the chenille "W," then sighed before placing it on the table beside her, running her fingers once more over her name.

She knew that this game signaled the start of her last year at Whitney and the last year of being the school mascot. Aidan's mind drifted back to the day during her junior year when she first put on the cardigan with that camp gear during the day, and what an honor it was to dress up in the Cavalier costume for the first time that night. …

"That was a great day," she said with a sigh and turning her attention to her plate and started fixing her hamburger. After a few minutes, some of her friends came and sat down with her. They started to chat about the ball game and who they thought would win homecoming queen as well as the annual rival game. None talked about the possible mascot-kidnapping prank, all deciding it was going to be the next year as Aidan was Ralph's goddaughter. It was also normally done the night before or morning of the game, and nothing had happened thus far. What they did not know though was their principal had already helped set up the prank and the wheels had been set in motion.

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Later that afternoon, Aidan was in the locker room, changing into her gym clothes before volleyball practice. For some reason - though it was probably to avoid doing extra sprints, everyone else had gotten changed quickly and left, so it was just her. Aidan tightened the waistband laces on her sweats and then laced up her shoes, reminding herself that she needed to stay in them because she had to move some props for the football halftime show to the outside closets.

She then put her stuff in her gym bag and headed out of the locker room stepping in to the gym, intending to go outside to join the rest of the class. She had just stepped out of the locker when she saw a teen - a woman - she did not recognize as student from Whitney enter the gym, shortly followed by a male student. She had a suspicion as to who they were and slowed her pace, scanning the gym with her eyes for a means of escape. She was a good twenty paces from the locker room but still with in easy reach.

Aidan 's suspicion were confirmed when the girl introduced the two. "Hello Aidan. We're from Burtonville, and we're here to kidnap you," the teenager said with a smirk which the boy with her copied.

"No way… not this year," Aidan replied backing up, shaking her head and putting her hands up. She knew it was all in fun, and it had to be done, though she couldn't figure out how being kidnapped and spending a whole day in Calculus or wherever they stuck her in could be considered fun. And for that reason she wasn't going without a fight. _"Besides,"_ she thought to herself, _"they have to catch me first."_

With the last thought she turned around to run back to the locker room, only to get caught by a second man and get picked up in a fireman's carry. She struggled, causing the bag she carried to fall to the ground and land on its side. "C'mon let me go… please?" she pleaded, embarrassed she could be caught unawares coming out of the locker room of all places. Aidan did, however, take comfort in the fact that none of them came into the locker room with her half dressed.

Rodney, who had caught Aidan, would not set her down. "Nope, you're already caught, you know the rules…" he said, laughing.

The young woman sighed and let herself go limp. Rolling her eyes, Aidan then mimicked Rodney as he continued with reviewing the rules. "…That if someone from the opponent school's kidnap team caught the mascot and picked him up to where both feet were off the ground for the count of five - he or she was caught," they said simultaneously.

"All right…all right," she said dejectedly as soon as he was done. "You got me. Now put me down," Aidan finished when he didn't put her down fast enough.

"Got it," Rodney chuckled setting the teen down and taking out the blindfold. "Now I've got to put this on you…"

"Blindfold? Oh c'mon," Aidan threw her hands up, then placed them on her hips. "I know where you're taking me…"

"Sorry Aidan," Rodney interrupted her holding up a hand. "But, rules are rules," he tried his best smile on her trying to stall any further argument. When he saw her relent, Rodney nodded in satisfaction then indicated for her to turn around. Rolling her eyes Aidan let her arms fall to her side and turned around, Rodney then put the blindfold over her eyes.

Once he was sure it was secure, he gently held her hand. "Lisa, can you get her other hand and make sure she doesn't trip on anything," he said.

"Sure," said Lisa and grabbed her other hand. The group started walking out, and Aidan paused briefly. "Wait, what about coach…"

"She's been informed," said Quinton bluntly pushing slightly on Aidan's back to get her to walk, but the action caused her to stop instead, she hadn't noticed the third teen approach and his sudden appearance and tone of voice sent a chill down her back.

Feeling Aidan stiffen slightly after she froze, Rodney realized Aidan was nervous. He shot a glare at Quinton, who simply smirked and shrugged.

"Aidan, don't worry." Rodney said still glaring occasionally at Quinton as they started again to the van "We went to the office to let them know we were here for the stunt. The secretary said that she'd call the coach to let her know we were coming. We said hi to Coach Lazare before we entered the gym," he finished, deciding not to specify that it was her godfather who had called and not the secretary, as Ralph knew about the prank.

Rodney pushed on the door that let them outside to where they had parked the van. "Don't worry, everything's going to be all right," he reassured Aidan, gently squeezing her hand trying to calm her nerves as they led her to the van.

Aidan sighed in resignation. "Well, I guess it holds true you can't win them all. But at least it's not overnight like other years," she chuckled some and heard the door to the van slide open and her two escorts helped her in.

"No," Rodney laughed as he helped Aidan put her seatbelt on and continued. "But you're lucky. They got our guy this morning, and from what I heard he was going to be stuck in a boring class part of the day,"

The teens laughed except for Quinton who went around and got in the driver's side. Lisa slid into the front passenger seat while Rodney joined Aidan in the back, after closing the door.

Once everyone was settled, and a quick check in at the office, the van headed off to where they were going to keep Aidan for the afternoon before the game, leaving Whitney High School behind until it was time for both mascots to get ready for the game.

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Ralph was sitting in his office, drinking a cup of coffee and working on some paperwork when he heard the phone ring. "Ralph Hinkley," he said.

"Hi hun, it's Pam," said the voice on the other line.

"Hi honey... is something wrong?" he asked, knowing that Pam didn't usually call the school at this time unless she was going to be longer getting home after a day in court - or if it was serious.

"No there's nothing wrong," she chuckled then continued "I was just seeing if our favorite cavalier had been kidnapped yet, or did she managed to escape," Pam said, leaning forward on her desk as she looked at a picture of Aidan in the cavalier uniform. She knew that her goddaughter was not too thrilled with the possibility of being a participant of the biennial tradition. Aidan hoped that perhaps she would be spared and in case she wasn't spared had planned at least one escape route from each class just in case they tried to catch her.

Ralph laughed, leaning back in his own chair and holding the receiver a little closer. "No, she didn't manage to escape. One of the students – Rodney I think he said, popped back by the office one more time to say they were on campus. So, now it's just wait for the phone call for the 'ransom.'"

"Guess her strategy of 'duck behind everything and behind people' didn't work," she said. "Anyway, I also wanted to let you know that I'm going to pick up her mum and pack her outfit for the party after the game before I meet you at the school."

Ralph frowned. "Why do you need to pack her outfit? It's going to be at home," he said.

"True, but you don't want anyone walking into her room by accident and find her in her underwear again…'

"I get the point. Bad enough I did it last time by accident," he said, chuckling as he shook his head, then remembered something. "Hey Pam, also can you get about 10 bottles of soda for the refreshments?" he said.

"OK, 10 bottles of soda, got it. See you in a little bit Ralph, love you."

"Love you too Pam. 'Bye," he said, hanging up the phone. Looking at his watch, he smiled. Ralph knew that while Aidan wanted to avoid the biennial ritual, she was at least in good hands. When he saw Rodney, he felt that he could trust the man to take care of his goddaughter.

"You know, I bet he's even a bit smitten with her," he thought, chuckling at the idea. "Have to admit at least he's got good taste. Guess I'll have to get the old baseball bat out sooner than I thought." He leaned back in his chair, deciding to take a short break before he finished up his work for the day, and waiting for the "kidnappers'" call.


	3. Chapter 3

As she was riding in the van, Aidan decided that she would finally relax about everything. While she wished that she were not a part of the kidnapping prank, she knew that it had been a possibility this was the year for it.

She then smiled some as she thought about her actual capturer. Even though she wished she had not been caught, she had to chuckle that the man gently picked her up in the fireman's carry and set her down just the same. He also made sure that she did not trip over anything when they progressed to the van, even briefly picking her up in his arms to make sure she did not fall into a hole in the concrete and sprain her ankle.

Feeling her face blush slightly at the memory, Aidan cleared her throat, surprising the man next to her. "Are you all right Aidan," said Rodney as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine… but I don't exactly think it's fair you can call me by my name and not the reverse," she said.

The man, realizing she had a point, chuckled. "Oh, sorry. Well, my name is Rodney, and the other two are Lisa and Quinton," he said introducing the other two kidnappers. 'Hello's' from the two in the front filtered to the back.

Aidan answered back in kind then tilted her head slightly in the direction she thought her seatmate was "Well, pleasure to meet you Rodney. So, what class are you?"

"We're all seniors, and we know you are too because we've seen you play volleyball. You've been a bane for us all four years…"

"But that's the fun of rivalry huh?" she said looking in the general direction of Rodney as she was still blindfolded. "Though I will admit I could empathize last year when your team lost against us at the state round of competition and most were seniors."

"Yeah, but even with the younger team this year, we could still possibly kick your butts," said Lisa, who was captain for the varsity team at Burtonville.

Aidan chuckled. "I'm looking forward to the contest. It'll be fun… so, Rodney, what's your favorite subject in school?"

"Science, though I also like history, math and art, and…"

"Art? Wow, same here," she said. "What medium?"

"Clay and pastels… wait, didn't you win a grand championship this past year for something you made?"

Aidan chuckled at the compliment. "Sure did, it was at the fair for an elaborate beaded necklace I did."

"Do you have any other favorite subjects?" asked Rodney, realizing the casual banter was helping Aidan to relax and enjoy being part of the tradition. _"If nothing else"_ he thought _"It's helping me learn a little more about Aidan."_

He saw Aidan smile as she replied "Yep, science as well, history, specifically world history…"

"That's great, it's a favorite part of the subject myself. Now… what about your favorite foods…" Rodney continued, after a few more questions and answers between them the two proceeded to chat comfortably with each other.

As they were talking, Quinton kept a close eye out on the road around him. He wanted to be sure that no one was trying to help Aidan out. He heard that a few times in the past that had happen, and he was determined not to let it happen this time. This plan had come together well and he did not want anyone to stop it.

I n the front passenger seat, Lisa listened to the chatter behind her as she looked out the passenger side window, after a few minutes she frowned when she realized she did not recognize the area they were driving through. With a sigh, figuring Quinton was distracted and had missed the turnoff for the school she turned to the driver. "Quinton… where are you going?" she said, a little concerned trying to keep her voice low and calm.

"Change of plans," said Quinton smugly and with a little more excitement than he intended. Seeing Rodney's confused look in the rearview mirror, he quickly covered and continued. "I forgot to tell you, I got a call from the school and they said that they needed us to hide out somewhere else for a while. Something about an accidental gasoline spill on the roof that affected the school ventilation units. They want to protect Whitney's mascot, so they gave us the other location and said it'd probably be for an hour. They told us about this place too because they needed to pick up some equipment for the game tonight and figured we could help."

"When was that Quinton?" Lisa asked a little confused as she didn't hear his cell phone go off. And thinking about it she knew he didn't have one to begin with.

"Wha ...well.. I…" Quinton stumbled slightly. "I mean I got a page."

"Page?"

"Yeah," he said as he pointed to the pager sitting on the van console, "While you two were getting ready to grab Aidan, and I used one of the pay phones outside the gym. That's why I came inside a little bit after you did. I guess in the excitement of getting Aidan I just kinda forgot to mention it," the teen finished with a smile and a shrug looking at Rodney and Lisa.

The two other kidnappers processed the information for a minute exchanging glances before Rodney spoke up.

"Oh. OK, as long as they know we're going to this second place," said Rodney.

"Yeah of course," Quinton nodded. "Like I said they were the ones who set this second place up, so it's all good." He chuckled slightly as they continued down the road. Little did anyone know what lay ahead at the end of the road was more than just a game - it was for keeps.


	4. Chapter 4

Ralph had finished his paperwork and leaned back in his chair, frowning. It had been almost an hour since Rodney and the others left with Aidan, but Ralph still had not gotten a call yet. Burtonville was about 15 miles away from Whitney High, so it should have only taken at most 30 minutes.

He had a slight nagging feeling, but passed it off as nerves. "They probably are just driving Aidan around a bit to confuse her as to where they're going," he said, chuckling. "But at least they're nice students though."

Looking at his watch again, Ralph realized he needed to go to the gym and see how it was being set up for the barbecue dinner that was being held prior to the game. He got up and left the office, and was halfway down the hall when the phone rang. Unbeknownst to him, it was a phone call that he needed to hear. …

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"Ralph, come on wouldja answer me," said Bill on the other end of the line. Hearing the secretary answer again and say that Ralph left his office but would be back, the agent hung up the phone.

Bill sat back in his chair and sighed, concerned. He needed to talk to Ralph in regard to a scenario they worked the year before. It involved an international drug and diamond smuggling ring, where both he and Ralph had captured the leader of the ring.

After getting the ringleader put in prison, Bill thought the case was closed. However, today Carlisle had stopped by his office, not to insult the agent but to give him a letter addressed to him - and Ralph. Opening it and reading the contents, Bill paled. There was one line in particular that made his blood chill: "You will pay for what you did to me."

Even though Bill knew and made sure that the man was still in prison, but reading the last part of the line, combined with the letter addressed to both men, Bill had a nagging feeling of concern and had tried to call Ralph to tell him about the letter. All he got though was a busy signal.

Bill glanced at his watch then back at the letter on his desk. He knew that waiting for Ralph to call him back would take too long and the little voice in his head told him it might be too late by then anyway.

Realizing that time was of the utmost importance Bill made a decision - he had to see Ralph in person. Before leaving, he stopped by Carlisle's office, telling him about the note and leaving out Ralph's connection, not wanting to have to answer endless questions about why a civilian was once again involved in a government case. He then told his boss he was going to check up on some leads pertaining to the letter. As Bill headed out of the building and drove over to the school, he hoped the creep had not figured out where Ralph worked and everyone was all right.


	5. Chapter 5

Across town, the van carrying Aidan and her "kidnappers" finally arrived at the new location. This new location much to the other two Burtonville teens surprise was a warehouse located in one of the shipping yards near L.A. Harbor. Despite its worn-down appearance outside, the warehouse appeared sturdy and in full use.

Wide shipping platforms that allowed ships to be loaded and unloaded easily surrounded the warehouse on three sides . Rows of boxes and other material were laid out haphazardly along the platform waiting to be loaded. The fourth side was the parking area and loading dock area for trucks and the access from the main road that Quinton pulled into the yard from.

Quinton stopped the van, barley controlling the excitement at how well this plan was working. With a smirk, he turned to the others. "Well, we're here," he said opening the door and hopping out.

Lisa followed opening the passenger door, not missing Quinton's sudden burst of energy at this small detour. She had a funny feeling and cast a glance at Rodney, before getting out of the van, by his look she could tell he was feeling the same way.

Getting out she looked around, making a face at how the place appeared slightly run-down. "You sure this is where they wanted us to go?" She asked shutting the van door and walking to the side to help Rodney.

"Yeah." Quinton answered from the far side of the van, bouncing on the balls of his feet "We're supposed to stay here with Aidan until the school calls," Quinton finished as he headed towards the warehouse.

Rodney got out of the van and, with Lisa's help, assisted Aidan out of the van. "You all right Aidan?" he said, catching her as she stumbled slightly.

"Doing as well as I can Rodney," said Aidan. "What happens now. We just sit here and wait?"

"Not quite. All that's left is to make the ransom call for pizza and then it's wait until about an hour before game time."

"Oh… so do I get some of the pizza as well?"

Rodney chuckled following Lisa, as he led a still blindfolded Aidan inside the warehouse. "I don't see why not, since we don't want the mascot to faint from hunger before the game."

Aidan flinched at the remark. "I'm not that prone to fainting," she said abruptly, shaking her head a little.

"Huh?" he said, confused at the odd remark to what he assumed was a joke.

"Long story, and I'm not really comfortable saying right now," Aidan said quietly, not wanting to tell the man yet about what caused the condition.

Rodney frowned at her comments, but understood that she was only an acquaintance right now. "I understand, but if you do feel ill or faint, tell us OK? Your godfather didn't say anything about you having any medical conditions."

Aidan was not surprised at the mention of her godfather, as he was the principal and figured they had to let him know where she was so he didn't panic. "He doesn't unless something happens to me." She shrugged "But don't worry, it's not really a major medical condition, like epilepsy. I'm just more prone to fainting at times than most people," she said, jumping back slightly when she heard her voice echo in the warehouse.

Rodney stopped just inside the doorway letting his eyes adjust to the dim light in the warehouse. Scanning the inside, he could see several rows of metal shelves that ran the length of the building and went almost to the ceiling, which he guessed to be several stories high. To the left along the far wall was a row of offices and what he assumed where storage rooms. Like outside on the platforms pallets of boxes were stacked.

In an open area closer to the offices, he spotted a chair and with Lisa's help, he guided Aidan over and sat her down in a chair. Making sure she was comfortable, they then gently tied her hands around one of the armrests of the chair, but left the blindfold on anyway. Not that it mattered, they were not at the school and therefore she couldn't really escape, even as a joke, but it was part of the fun. "There, our captive gets the only chair in the warehouse and be comfortable while the rest of us sit on the ground," said Lisa, giving a fake grumble when Aidan quipped she could be blindfolded instead of Whitney's mascot.

Quinton watched them as he leaned against the door jam of one of the offices. _"Yes, this is going just as planned, now for the next phase," _he laughed to himself, rubbing his hands together as he walked over to the other three.

"Hey Lisa, Rod, is the _cavalier_ secured nice and tight? We wouldn't want her to get away before we get our pizza now would we" Quinton asked, and he couldn't help but smile as he saw Aidan shudder slightly. _"Oh this is just too good," _he thought to himself then continued as he got a yes from the other two teens. "Good, well I had an idea how about instead of sitting around, we start getting the equipment in the van for the game?" he said.

"You're sure that Aidan will be all right if we leave her alone for a few minutes?" Rodney asked, a little skeptical at to what exactly the school would need at this warehouse, as most of the containers he saw did not have anything to do with school or football.

"Yep… I'm sure," said Quinton chuckling quietly. "Aidan, we'll be back in a few moments… so we can decide what pizza we want as ransom." He told her before leading Rodney and Lisa to a door at the far end of the row of offices.

Just before reaching the door, Quinton stopped letting the other to pass him, Rodney in front then Lisa followed closely by Quinton.

Once there, Rodney looked curiously at the door then turned around. "All right, what do we need to get…" he started, then stopped when he saw Quinton had a gun pointed directly at him and Lisa. Lisa turned around to see what her friend was staring at and seeing the gun opened her mouth to scream, but Rodney, not wanting Aidan to worry quickly covered Lisa's mouth.

"Shhh…"

"Good idea," said the man behind the gun with a sneer that made both teens shudder.

"Quinton, what the hell are you doing…" Rodney growled placing himself in front of Lisa so that he was between the gunman and the girl.

"Starting a kidnapping of my own - this time for real," said the teen quietly with a wicked smile. "Now, why don't you get inside this room…" he stepped around the two keeping his gun on them as he opened the closet door. "Right now, before I decide to use this thing." Quinton ordered waving his gun when the teens hesitated.

Rodney and Lisa could only nod then entered the room. Catching her breath, Lisa leaned closer to Rodney trying to keep her voice steady "What about Aidan…"

"Oh, she's a part of this too,¨ Quinton stated from where he stood just inside the door ¨Her godfather's meddling in my family's affairs is the reason that she's a part of this change in plans so to speak. He thinks this was all in fun, only, I don't think he was expecting her to return in a body bag…"

Realizing that Quinton was not joking and this was deadly serious, Rodney growled and stepped forward. "You son of a bitch…" he said, only to get cut off with a sharp upper cut. The man fell to the ground in a heap, semiconscious.

Lisa quickly walked over to Rodney and shook his shoulder. She then looked up at their true kidnapper. "Why?" she asked her voice wavering some as she looked up at Quinton then back at Rodney .

"Aidan's godfather cost me time with my dad for a crime he didn't commit, and now it's time for him get his reward for that," Quinton replied turning his back on the two teens, walking out the door. He grabbed the door to shut it on his way out then stopped, with a evil smile he turned around looked back at the two "But don't worry, once I finish with Aidan, you will join her as well… in death." Quinton laughed as he closed and secured the door, plunging Lisa and Rodney into darkness.

---------------------------------

In the other part of the warehouse, Aidan was getting anxious sitting there all by herself wondering what happened to the others. As she continued to sit in the chair Rodney and Lisa had tied her to, she toyed with the fabric tied around her wrists. The bonds were not tight and she felt as though she could free herself from the bonds, but decided that it wasn't fair to ruin the fun of the other school's students if she got free and removed the blindfold.

She heard footsteps approaching, and turned her head toward the sound "Sounds like you guys are busy with getting the stuff for the game," Aidan chuckled.

Quinton looked at Aidan and smirked, realizing, much to his satisfaction, that she didn't know anything about where Rodney and Lisa were. "Yeah, they're busy all right," he said with a slight sarcastic tone, which Aidan dismissed as his disliking the fact he was watching her.

Walking over to a box that had been hidden for this occasion lay. Quinton grabbed the box, and opening it, found what he needed for this scenario: rope, a handkerchief, and a few other items.

"So, what do you want for your pizza? Personally I like pepperoni, mushrooms and jalapeños," Aidan said, oblivious to what was going on. "Don't know what the others want though."

"Me neither, but it's not important," Quinton said gruffly as he untied the fabric from around Aidan's wrists.

"Thanks, I was wondering if I was going to be tied to this chair all day and…" she said and started to pull her arms in front of her, only to feel her arms be jerked behind her. "OK, what are you doing?" She asked as her hands were being tied once again, only this time with rope.

"Making sure you can't escape," he stated, smirking.

"You don't have to worry about that, I made a promise to Rod--" Aidan explained trying to free her hands "Ow!" she shouted when Quinton jerked her arms up so the binds could be tied tighter. "Hey, what the hell are you doing?" She continued to protest and struggle against the rope wrapped tightly around her wrist.

"Like I said," Quinton leaned over her shoulder closer to Aidan's ear "I am making sure you don't escape, and you're not going to … not for a very long time." The teen sneered letting go of her arms.

Aidan paled when she heard the slightly sinister tone in the man's voice, but played along, hoping this was part of the prank. "Course not silly," Aidan laughed nervously " I can't escape until halftime when the prisoners are exchanged…"

"There isn't going to be an exchange," he said, leaning near her again still standing behind her and placed a hand on each of her shoulders.

"No exchange? Then how are you going to get your mascot back?" She asked trying once again to free her hands.

"Oh, he'll probably be let free,¨ Quinton said flatly, shrugging his shoulders then squeezed Aidan's shoulders slightly, causing Aidan to gasp slightly at the pressure. ¨ However, you might just be tied up for a while…"

"Uh un, you guys have to let me go back to Whitney after this and…" she said, only to yelp when she had her hair grabbed and head jerked back roughly. "All right, quit it… now you're hurting me."

"Good… that's what I want to do," said Quinton as he then started tying a rope around Aidan's torso, securing her arms to her body.

"C'mon, this isn't funny anymore." Aidan said trying to squirm out of the ties, to no avail. "Let me go, you know the rules, you're not supposed to …"

"What? Tie you up this tightly?" Quinton sneered "Haven't you figured this out Aidan, this is no longer just a school prank, this is a new game and we are playing by my rules now."

He then laughed securing the rope with a knot. "And it's the least of your worries, your godfather's going to pay for what he did to my dad - with you."


	6. Chapter 6

"Rodney? C'mon man, snap out of it," said Lisa as she again shook the teen's shoulder again. After Quinton had locked the door she had fumbled around in the room and found a small floodlight. Turning it on, she saw that they were in a room full of a variety of supplies to repair ships as well as a few cases of tinned foods. Now the light sat next her as she tried again to wake the other occupant in the room.

Lisa pulled her hand back as Rodney groaned bringing a hand to his sore jaw and wondering how he came to hurt it in first place. Hearing a familiar voice breaking through his confusion the teen stirred and blinked his eyes. Returning to full consciousness, Rodney rolled onto his back and looked up to see Lisa staring down at him.

"What?… Lisa," he said sitting up only to become dizzy. Leaning back on one hand for support he shook his head, clearing it as the memories came flooding back. "Aidan, where…" Rodney asked franticly looking around.

Lisa placed a hand on her friends shoulder trying to calm him some, though not sure who need the most calming, her or Rodney "She's still outside… with Quinton," she said, growing terrified. "Rodney, we've got to do something or…"

"I know," he said, reaching for one of the shelves for support as he pulled himself to his feet as fast as he could. Once Rodney knew he was steady and no longer feeling the effects of his glass jaw, he reached and retrieved the flood light and looked around, noticing the painted over windows. "Have you tried these?"

Lisa nodded. "Yeah, but they wouldn't budge, I think they are painted shut," she said as he set the light down and picked up a discarded screwdriver and started scratching a little bit of paint off the windows. Sure enough, light started seeping through the windows. There were also no grills covering the windows, which meant they could be opened.

He then looked at the windowsill, noticing the problem. "You're right Lisa, the paint made the edges seal tight," he said, starting to scrape around the edge of the windowsill then stopped and started to push on the window. "C'mon, give me a hand here."

The young woman nodded and both pushed. After a few moments, the paint finally broke apart and the window swung outward. The two gave a soft sigh in relief before refocusing on their problems.

"OK, here's the plan: I'm going to go out and call the police. You stay here and hide behind some these boxes."

Lisa frowned. "But what if Quinton comes back?" she said, only to be handed a tire iron by Rodney. "Got it. What about Aidan though? We have to…"

"We need to call for help first then try to free Aidan," he said as he finished climbing out the window. "C'mon, hide." He urged his friend when he turned to look back in the window and saw she had not moved from her spot.

Lisa nodded and, hid behind the boxes, tire iron in hand. Rodney then quickly ran from the warehouse to find a telephone, knowing that every second counted in this kidnapping - and this time, instead of pizza, the ransom was Aidan's life.

------------------------------------------

Aidan paled, fighting the urge to faint when she heard Quinton's comment. Though she did win that fight, she was confused as to why he would say what he did, as Ralph had always helped people. "Your dad? What do you mean, Ralph…" she started to ask, only to get her face slapped.

"Shut up, you know what he did," Quinton growled. "Your precious dad arrested him for drug running and diamond theft. My old man said that he saw your godfather in a red suit before he was knocked out."

"Red suit, what are you talking about? Ralph doesn't have a red suit…" she said confused. "Only odd suit he has is an old madras jacket a friend of his loaned him for a costume…"

"Get real,¨ Quinton cut her off with a swift kick to the chair. ¨He has it and you had to have seen it. How can you miss something like that? My dad said that Mr. Hinkley was wearing a red superhero costume with a cape. Only thing was, instead of it being a costume, it was real. That it had real superhero powers that let him fly and such," he said, walking over to his box for some more rope. "Doesn't matter though, because this time it isn't going to help him. Too bad for him it now has hurt his goddaughter, especially since she feels obligated to lie for him."

"I'm not lying," Aidan, pleaded trying again to get the binds loose. "I don't know what you're talking…"

Quinton interrupted, re-rolling the new length of rope to make it easier to wrap around Aidan's legs. "Don't even bother, trying to explain. Besides, revenge is best served cold," he said. "It was easy to get this plan started, especially when I found out you were the Cavalier. When I found out that Burtonville was going to have students kidnap the Whitney High mascot, I was the first to volunteer and made sure I won the vote to be one of the kidnappers. That way... I could get you and hold you ransom…"

Aidan took a breath, deciding that the man had gone crazy and tried to talk some sense into him. "Yes, for pizza. This is for fun…a joke.. you know," Aidan stated still hoping Quinton's actions were part of the theatrics of the prank rather than what he was alluding to.

Quinton rolled his eyes at Aidan's apparent naiveté to the situation "No, not for pizza or fun. This is payback for what he did," Quinton said with a leer as he knelt next to her feet and continued. "It's for my old man's freedom and money. I bet your old man would pay a pretty penny to have his darling little girl back... But then again, it'll be for nothing."

Aidan growled, realizing what he was implying. "You bastard," she said, swinging her leg up. The blow connected with Quinton's jaw, and he fell backwards, stunned. The young woman, hearing the thud, started shouting. "Lisa, Rodney, go get help. Quinton's…"

The man, recovering, got up and clamped a hand over her mouth. "They can't help you... no one can. But, now I think because you made me suffer... I'm going to make you suffer."

The young woman, feeling the man touch her leg, again struggled and started fighting. Even tied up, Quinton realized that he would have problems trying to tie up her legs, especially since she estimated where he was very well, even blindfolded. How she could, he did not know, but as long as she had fight in her, she would be a hindrance to his plan.

The man let go of her mouth, deciding to make a quick retreat to the box again. This time, he reached for a bottle of chloroform and the handkerchief. Putting some of the bottle's contents on the rag, he returned to the young woman, who was again shouting for Rodney and Lisa to get help.

Quinton again clamped a hand over her mouth and jerked her head back. Aidan groaned at the pain she felt in her neck from the movement, allowing him enough time to remove his hand from her mouth and pick her up.

Aidan felt herself be bodily lifted from the chair and dropped to the ground. After she hit the ground, she tried to sit up only to have Quinton shove her shoulders back to the ground, making her cry out in pain from sore shoulders.

Despite Aidan´s struggle against her assailant, he continued to hold on tight preventing her from escaping his tight grip on her. Pinning her to the ground, Quinton leaned next to her ear. "Still a spitfire aren't you bitch? Well... maybe a little naptime will help you see things clearly," he said wickedly and then placed the drugged rag firmly over Aidan's nose and mouth.

The young woman felt a soft fabric touch her face, but smelling the contents, started to feel dizzy and realized what was going on. "Damn it, no" she thought and started crying out and struggling against the rag and the effects of the chloroform.

Quinton kept a firm hold of the rag and smiled at Aidan's attempts to get free. "That's right Aidan, just go to sleep… that's all you can do now, don't fight it," he said, mocking her attempts to tell him to stop.

Aidan kept fighting as long as she could, hoping someone would come in at the last moment and stop this madness. After a few moments, she could feel her struggles weaken as her body started to go limp. The last thing she thought before lapsing into unconsciousness - though why this one exactly she didn't know - was one simple phrase:

_"Ralph, help me…"_


	7. Chapter 7

Across town, Ralph was sitting in his office, running a hand through his hair and looking at his watch. It had been almost two hours, and no phone call yet about a "ransom" for Whitney High's mascot.

He decided that it was time to call the principal at Burtonville, just to see what the delay was. On the third ring, the phone picked up. "Sam Henderson," said the other voice on the line.

"Sam? Hey, this is Ralph Hinkley at Whitney High."

"Oh, Ralph, are you calling to give your ransom demands for Burtonville's mascot?" he said cheerfully, knowing that his school already received Whitney's kidnapper's demands for food. He thought Ralph's call was part of tradition, as the principals of the schools usually had a separate demand as well if the opponent's mascot was captured first. Hearing Ralph sigh however, he knew this was not the case. "Ralph? Is there something wrong?"

"I don't know," Ralph ran a hand through his hair leaning back in his chair. "That's why I called. I haven't received Burtonville's demands for our mascot. Is Aidan there yet?"

"I'm, not sure Ralph let me see…" Sam said and Ralph leaned forward on his desk as he heard the principal on the other line talk with his secretary. After a few moments, Henderson returned to the phone. "No Ralph, they haven't checked in yet." Sam paused for a second and heard his secretary mention something in the background, before he continued, "Look, We're going to call them on their pagers and the cell phone, and I will let you know when I hear anything."

Ralph closed his eyes, concerned. "What if you don't get…"

"We're also going to call the police and see if they'll put out an APB on the van," Henderson interrupted, growing concerned himself. "Trust me Ralph, if my students pulled a stunt and took your goddaughter on a three-hour drive instead of obeying orders, I'll see they have suspension and detention each week for the next six weeks."

"All right, Sam," Ralph chuckled mirthlessly, though he knew that Henderson was quite serious. While the schools were rivals, both men knew the importance of family and he hoped it was just some stunt and not something more. "Give me a call as soon as you hear from them," the man said.

"Will do Ralph, and with my students' punishments as well," said Henderson, hanging up the phone.

Ralph hung up his phone, and as he did, he felt a weird shudder go down his spine and a cold pit hit his stomach. He could have sworn he heard Aidan's voice… saying a simple phrase: _"Ralph help me…"_

Though Ralph didn't have the suit on, the small chill he felt and what he thought he heard made him concerned. He reached for his briefcase and opened it, getting out the suit. After making sure everyone was gone for the day, he then closed the door to his office and started changing into the suit so he could get a holograph of his goddaughter.

Ralph had just pulled off his pants and started to take his shirt off to put the tunic on, when Bill barged in, the door barley missing the younger man as Ralph caught the door with his hand keeping it from hitting him.

He shook his head at the fact Bill did not seem to notice as the agent continued towards his desk "Ralph, where the hell have you been? I've been tryin' to call ya all afternoon."

"Gee, that's a nice welcome," Ralph quipped, shutting the office door.

Bill spun around. "Ralph why are you only in your shirt?" The agent asked noticing for the first time Ralph's state of dress - or rather undress.

"I was changing…" Ralph started the remembered it was Bill who barged in. "Don't you ever knock Bill?"

"Don't have time when something comes up Kid," Bill said.

The younger man was about to respond when he noticed Bill's concerned expression, realizing there was something wrong. "What is it?" Ralph asked as he walked back over to his desk, the reason he was changing into the suit forgotten for the moment

"Kid, I got a letter," said the agent.

"Huh?"

"Ralph, I got a letter today," he said, pulling out the item and placing it on Ralph's desk. "From the head honcho of that diamond and drug ring we busted a year ago."

Ralph picked up the letter, opening it up. He didn't remember the person Bill was talking about, as there had been many criminals the two put in jail. "So…" Ralph shrugged handing the letter back to his friend, "you get them all the time Bill, especially with that record for busts you have."

"Not like this one Kid…" Bill took the letter and pointed to the envelope it came in showing it to his partner. "It was addressed to both of us."

Ralph picked the envelope then took the letter back, looking at both. Seeing Ralph's light up in concern but still unable to recognize who the agent was talking about, Bill then pulled out a photo he found at the agency. "It's this guy here." He said as he pointed to one of the men in the picture. Ralph looked up at the agent then took the photo looking at it more closely.

"Yeah, I remember him…Hunter Everett," He shrugged still looking between the photo and the letter after a minute looked more closely at the picture but not at Hunter Everett but the teen standing next to the man. The boy looked familiar. "Bill… who's that?"

Bill leaned over to see who Ralph was pointing at "Oh that's the creep's rugrat. I think his name's Guyton or some weird name."

Ralph frowned, now making the connection. "Quinton…" he said, starting to think.

"Yeah that's his name. Goes to some school around here, I don't think it's Whitney though."

"Burtonville." Ralph corrected the agent, slightly distracted by the picture in his hand.

"Button what ?" Bill asked confused at the train of thought running through the other man's head and how quickly his younger friend seemed to jump from one subject to another especially when it didn't seem to have anything to do with what he came here for ¨Ralph what does that…"

"Burtonville High School Bill," interrupted Ralph looking up at the man, slightly annoyed, and growing concerned. "Bill, they're our rival school and I just met this kid yesterday.¨ The younger man pointed the teen in the picture. "He was with Rodney and Lisa, going over their plans for today to kidnap…"

Ralph then paled, realizing that the funny feeling he had about Aidan was not just a feeling. "Kidnap… Aidan," he said starting to run out of office.

"Uh Ralph…" Bill quickly stepped in the way confused by his friend sudden panic "Kid, what kidnapping? Where you going…"

Ralph frustrated that Bill was standing in his way tried to push pass him "Bill, every other year the Burtonville kidnaps our mascot and vice versa…"

Bill stopped him again raising his hands trying to calm man down "Alright Ralph but I don't think you need to be running around the school in just a shirt and boxers," Bill stated pointing out the younger man's attire. Ralph confused quickly looked down and realized what Bill meant. "Yeah. Right" Ralph said and grabbed his pants, quickly pulling them on then rushed out the door with Bill close behind.

"OK, so what does this have to do with Aidan," Bill asked as they walked to the gym.

"Well this year was an odd year and Aidan is the mascot, and this guy's son was on the kidnap squad," the younger man explained once they reached the gym.

The agent frowned, now seeing the man's concern. He knew Ralph had fought valiantly to keep Aidan from being harmed because of suit scenarios - directly or indirectly. "You think this guy used this prank to get back at us? Why not just try to nab ya," he asked.

"My guess is that dear old dad told him about my suit and how it protected me, so instead had him go for someone I love," he said, opening a side door, much to Bill's surprise as the door was clearly marked ¨Girls Locker Room.¨ Before the agent could speak, Ralph spoke up. "Hello? Anyone there?" he said, and not getting a female response, entered.

"Kid, why are we going in ta the girl's locker room," Bill said, making a face as he sniffed the air. "Though it smells horrible. Who'd a thought that dames could smell so bad?"

"You sound like Aidan," Ralph said, rolling his eyes. "You should hear how she explains the smell and the complaints about having to change in the men's locker room when she plays away volleyball games."

"Yeah I can think of a few choice words myself" Bill wrinkled his nose again as the both looked around "Ralph what are we looking for?"

Ralph ignored the man's question and continued looking around the locker room not seeing anything of Aidan's there, he went over to another door that led to the gym.

Bill, mumbling about the smell and the fact he was forced to come in there, wasn't paying attention as he followed his friend out of the locker room and nearly collided with the younger man when he abruptly stopped as he entered the gym. Maxwell then watched as Ralph quickly crossed the gym and kneeled down. The older man came up behind his friend and looked over the mans shoulder and saw Aidan's bag lying where it fell when she was kidnapped.

Ralph picked it up the bag and seeing a familiar beaded key ring put on the zipper pull, showed it to Bill, now panicking. "This is hers. How could I be so stupid…"

The agent, realizing that if Ralph started to panic he'd have trouble helping Aidan, put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Calm down Kid, you didn't know he would have his rugrat try something. I mean I just found out an hour ago myself," he said, looking at the bag then Ralph. "Do you have the suit with you?"

Bill could see his friend was still concentrating on the bag and missed the question. He said the man's name to try and get his attention. Ralph looked up and Bill repeated his question "I said, do ya have the suit with you?"

"Uh yeah, it's in my office," he answered a little distraught at the turn of events, then snapped back into focus pushing that aside.

"OK,¨ Bill nudged his friend toward the door. ¨Let's go put the magic jammies on, get a bead on this creep and show him who is boss."

Ralph nodded and they both returned to the office, knowing now every minute, every second counted to save Aidan's life.


	8. Chapter 8

At the warehouse, Rodney was searching for a phone to call the police. Outside the warehouse not to far from the storeroom, the teen saw what looked like a guard shack close to the front gates. He made his way quickly to the shack making sure to stay out of site. Once there he was relieved to see a phone and picked it up.

"Damn," Rodney cursed under his breath, hanging up the phone when he didn't get a dial tone and looked around for something else that could help. He saw the open bay that led back to where he knew Aidan and Quinton must be. Rodney then realized the next best thing he could do was to go and see where Aidan was and to see if he could help her.

Grabbing a board, he walked back toward the warehouse. Hearing yells and noises, Rodney quickened his pace and ran over to the building. He peered through a window and saw Quinton holding a rag over Aidan's nose and mouth. The woman was struggling, only to then relax.

Rodney quickly made a decision that he had to do something and made his way to the entrance. "Let her go you son of a bitch…" he roared, entering the building, board raised.

Quinton, seeing the man advance, dropped the drugged handkerchief near Aidan's insensible form and drew his gun. "There, I did… what are you going to do about it?" he said, training the weapon right at Rodney's head.

The teen stopped taking a step back, and the kidnapper smiled. "Not so much the tough guy now huh Rod?" Quinton mocked.

Rodney frowned, looking at Aidan. The woman was lying sideways on the floor, not moving. "What did you do to Aidan?"

"Oh, she will be all right…" he said, then smirked evilly. "Well for now anyway."

Realizing what the man was implying, Rodney growled. "You bastard," he said, taking a step forward, only to stop when Quinton cocked the hammer to the pistol.

"Not so fast hero... unless you want to end up just like Aidan, only in a more permanent way," he said, smirking. Rodney, realizing that he was out powered at the moment, backed off.

Seeing he had the upper hand, Quinton uncocked the pistol, but pointed his gun to an office to his left. "Now if you will lead the way we have a phone call to make to Aidan's dear ol' godfather."

Rodney turned and both walked to the office and the phone. "What are you going to tell him."

"I'm not going to tell him anything…But you," Quinton jabbed the gun in Rodney's back. "Are going to tell him where his precious little girl is so he can get her… and my way or you'll both die… understand?" Quinton said the last part jabbing the gun once again into the teen's back. Rodney swallowed hard forcing the fear he felt rising down and nodded.

---------------------------------------

At Whitney, Ralph had put on the suit and was now trying to get a holograph off the bag and the items in it. So far, nothing came into view, confirming his fears. "Damn, nothing…" said Ralph, running a hand through his hair.

Bill took a breath, knowing he needed to speak calmly here. "Kid, take it easy…"

"Bill, I can't take it easy, I'm getting no vibes off Aidan's stuff. What if she's…" he said pausing, rubbing his hand over his face in frustration and worry. He did not want to think of that possibility.

The agent put a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder. "Kid, I know you're stubborn, but this time, please listen. Nothing is good here."

"Nothing's good? What the hell are you talking about…" he snapped.

"Well, you said that you can get holographs of people if they're pushing up daisies…"

"BILL?!"

"All right, that's rough, but ya've said that right?" he said. Ralph reluctantly nodded and Bill continued. "But, you've also said that you can't get beads on people if they're trying to read the funnies on the back of their eyelids. So she's gotta just be out cold at the worst…"

Ralph sighed, realizing that while Bill was being blunt, he was telling the truth. "All right… let me try again," he said, reaching in the bag and finding the little jewelry box Aidan brought in her bag to put her rings in. He was about to open the box when he heard the phone ring.

Bill, hearing the ring too, put a hand up to keep the younger man from answering it right off. After the third ring, the agent nodded and let Ralph answer the phone. "Ralph Hinkley," he said, keeping his voice level.

"Mr. Hinkley? Hey, this is Rodney," said the man on the other line.

"Rodney, hi…" Ralph looked over at his friend who nodded telling the man to continue. "Yeah how are you?" he asked pretending that he didn't know what was going on.

On the other side of the line, Rodney, hearing the comments, turned to look at Quinton. "Don't try anything funny," whispered Quinton, keeping his gun in the teen's back.

"Rodney, you OK?" said Ralph, concerned about the teen's safety as well when Rodney didn't answer right away. "Where are you?"

"Fine…" Rodney cleared his throat pulling the receiver closer to his mouth and turning away from Quinton "Listen Aidan, Lisa, Quinton and I were kidnapped for real," he said as a foghorn blared in the distance.

"Kidnapped?" said Ralph, playing along in case the real kidnapper was there.

"Yeah… There was a struggle, but I managed to escape and call the police. After they said to stay where I was, I decided to call you," he said, grunting slightly when he was jabbed in the back with the barrel of the gun.

"OK, you do what they told you," said Ralph, not missing the grunt. "Rodney… how's Aidan?"

"How's Aidan?" he said, again looking at Quinton. Seeing the man shake his head, Rodney realized he couldn't say Aidan's true condition. "Uh, she's fine I think…" he said, then decided to try and relay the truth to Ralph. "Mr. H, you…"

Ralph heard the phone call abruptly cut off. "Rodney… Rod?… Damn," he said, slamming down the phone, shattering it into many pieces because of the suit's strength.

"What?" said Bill, deciding that lecturing Ralph about being careful in the suit at the school could be held off.

"I got cut off."

"Damn… did ya get a holograph off the phone call?"

"No…" said Ralph, looking around the room. Noticing a glimpse of red and blue behind a chair, Ralph walked over to see what it was. Pulling it out, he saw it was a letterman's jacket, and smiled when he saw the letter on the front and name on the back. "Wait a second…"

Bill looked at the jacket as Ralph put it on, confused. "Uh, Kid, this ain't the time to relive your old high school days…"

Ralph ignored him. "Bill this is Rodney's jacket. He wore it yesterday…" he said, hoping there were some vibes in it. Sure enough a picture came into view. "I'm getting something."

"That's terrific Kid. What do ya see?" he said, only to find Ralph put his hand on his shoulder to let him share the holograph.

Though Bill shuddered when he too got the picture, he did not want to jolt Ralph and cause him to lose the holograph. In the picture, he saw a warehouse and two men.

_"That was real stupid Rod my man, but at least he will get the point. Now move," _Quinton said, waving the gun in the direction of Aidan.

Bill, feeling a little dizzy from the holograph, stepped away from Ralph forcing the man to let go. Despite this, the agent still saw Ralph focused on the image. "Bill you OK?" asked the younger man after the older agent's movement

"Yeah,¨ Bill waved off the man's concern. ¨Just had some problems with the holograph. I'm getting too old for viewing them,¨ he said leaning against the desk Do ya see Aidan?"

Ralph rolled his eyes at the "getting older" comment and concentrated fully on the holograph, thinking of Aidan. This time, whether it was because of Rodney being near her person or something else, Ralph saw the young woman. He frowned when he didn't see her respond to the men's voices, but could tell from the slight flutter of newsprint near her mouth she was at least alive. "Yeah I do Bill."

"How is she?"

"You were right…Aidan's unconscious. It looks like she's tied up and blindfolded too," he said and noticed that Rodney was being led to where the teen was. The holograph faded and Ralph turned to his partner. "Bill… Quinton was forcing Rodney to go to where she is. I think he's going to…"

"Not if we stop him first," said Bill, growing furious now with the kidnapper. "Do ya know where she is exactly?"

"All I saw was the warehouse, then the exterior. It said 'Harrington's…' with the rest rusted out it seems."

"Harrington's fish and tackle… that's on government property now. The only warehouse building they have left is about 15 miles from here," he said, then pushed the man to the door. "All right, you hit the silk Ralph. I'll follow in my car. We're gonna get this son of a bitch before he messes with our Cavalier."

"Took the words right out of my mouth, Bill " said Ralph, opening the door of his office leading to the courtyard. Seeing no one in the area, he took three steps and jumped, taking flight. As he flew, he said a quick prayer for Aidan, Rodney and Lisa's safety, hoping he wouldn't be too late.


	9. Chapter 9

"Walk," Quinton said, shoving Rodney through the doorway of the office then pointed towards where Aidan was. "You are going to help in tying up the brat before her godfather gets here. you know all nice a proper like a real present," he laughed and Rodney glared at the man then started walking.

Once Rodney got closer, he saw that Aidan was still unconscious and quickly knelt down next to her, checking to see if she was still breathing. He sighed in relief finding it as well as a pulse when Quinton jerked him up and pushed the teen towards Aidan's feet. "Don't bother with that end, won't matter in a little while anyway," Quinton smirked, "Where she's going the only thing she'll be breathing in is H2O. Now, tie up her legs."

Quinton threw some rope at Rodney, who caught it then stood up to confront the other teen. "I'm not helping you Quinn. This is ridiculous, killing Aidan or any of us won't solve anything."

The man just shook his head at Rodney's boldness. "Maybe your right Rod…" Quinton started to turn and Rodney smiled, thinking he adverted the threat, and let his guard down only to have Quinton suddenly turn around and sucker punch him in the stomach.

Rodney doubled over and his knees hit the floor. He was still catching his breath and gagging from the punch as he felt the barrel of Quinton's gun on the back of his head "Now, what you are going to do is finish tying up Little Miss Cheer here and then you're going to help me kill her. You understand?" Quinton said and Rodney nodded. "Good, and I don't want to hear anymore of your debate team crap do you get it?"

When Rodney nodded again Quinton moved the weapon away from Rodney and leaned closer to him jerking the teen's head back. "You should know Rod, there is no negotiating with bad guys like me," Quinton laughed, shoving the teen so that he fell flat over Aidan's legs.

Rodney looked up at the man, his eyes shooting daggers, but started doing as he was told. He was nearly in tears as he looked at Aidan, who wasn't even making a sound. "I'm so sorry Aidan. You don't deserve this…" he said, only to get jabbed a bit in the back with the barrel of the gun.

Quinton mocked the teen's reaction. "Oh, but she does Rodney. She helped her godfather out by playing ignorant to his wearing a superhero suit, and he caught my dad that way - knocked him out with just a tap on the head against a wall," he said. "And now she's going to pay the price for helping that creep."

Rodney glared at the man. "You're demented you know that Quinton?" he said as he finished tying up Aidan's legs. "There's no such thing as a real superhero suit."

"Tell that to my old man Rodney. He has a great thing going for us - even if it was 'slightly' illegal, but it was Aidan's godfather who ruined it for me and my dad," he said, nearly spitting at Aidan's unconscious form. "Hinkley separated the two of us, so it's only fitting that I separate him from his goddaughter - permanently."

Quinton then shoved Rodney to the side when the teen finish binding Aidan. "Get out of the way, I want to be sure you tied her legs tight," he said, kneeling but kept the gun trained on Rodney's head. Finding that Aidan was indeed secure, Quinton looked at the man and sneered. "Now, pick her up. We're going for a little walk."

Rodney, closing his eyes briefly, gently pulled Aidan up into a sitting position. He then continued pulling Aidan up until he could pick her up in a fireman's carry, gently lifting her up onto his right shoulder. Seeing Quinton motion with his gun which way he wanted Rodney to move, the man walked, silently praying that help would come soon, but if not that the end would be quick for both of them.

-----------------------------------------

Ralph flew as fast as he could to the warehouse, crashing about 25 yards from the building behind a stack of boxes. Mildly impressed he had landed there and not a few feet farther to the left, which would have put him in the water Ralph stood up straightening his cape, then snuck along the boxes until he could see the warehouse. When he did not see any movement Ralph closed his eyes and bowed his head, turning invisible, he then quickly ran the short distance to the warehouse coming to a halt just inside the door.

He first scanned the wide area but when he didn't see anything, except for the now empty van, he did a quick run through the building. The only thing or person he found was Lisa, after getting a vibe off the door to the storage room, where she was hiding.

Deciding it was safer if she stayed there, he continued his search until he made a full circle and came back to where the van was and the area he last saw the trio in. Seeing the coast was clear, he turned visible and searched the area. After looking behind and around the stacks of boxes scattered about, Ralph noticed an ivory handkerchief lying on the floor.

Tilting his head, Ralph walked over to it and picked it up, hoping to get a holograph off it. He found it was slightly damp toward the center as he scrunched it and put it close to his face, trying to get vibes off it. After taking a few breaths as he was trying to get a holograph, Ralph started to feel dizzy. He staggered back, shaking his head to clear it and looked at the handkerchief and made a face. "OK… so I forgot the suit doesn't protect me from drugs - at least fully," he grumbled, lowering the rag closer to his waist.

After a couple of moments, a holograph phased into view. In it, he saw Rodney carrying Aidan over his shoulder and Quinton walking behind him, training a gun on the man's back.

Rodney readjusted Aidan's full weight on his shoulder. _"Where are we going,"_ he said, trying to find out a way for him and his cargo to escape.

_"To kill Aidan,"_ came the calm reply.

_"You know the coroner's going to wonder about her death if she's tied up."_

_"No, they won't,"_ Quinton chuckled. _"Don't you see… it's perfect. She drowns in a prank gone wrong, and someone… her boyfriend, shall we say, tries to save her, but ends up dying in the process."_

_"But the coroner will know it wasn't an accident if I have a bullet hole," _said Rodney.

_"No…"_ Quinton smirked again at the brilliance of his own plan _"That won't happen either Rod. This gun is only for insurance. I think a simple blow to the head will work in making your death seem accidental. Just you getting knocked out accidentally as you try rescuing the girl."_

_"What about Lisa?"_

_"Oh, she'll join the two of you as well… I just haven't figured out her part or demise in this," _said Quinton with a smirk. _"Now move…"_

The holograph faded, and Ralph pulled out his communicator. "Bill, do you read me?" he said.

'_Loud and clear Kid, where are ya?'_ said the voice on the other side.

"I'm at the warehouse and just got a holograph of Aidan and Rodney," he said starting to pace. "They're heading toward the harbor Bill. Quinton wants to drown Aidan. How far away are you?"

'_About two minutes Kid.'_

"Hurry… they're near the harbor, and unless you want me to just up and rush them…"

'_I said two minutes Kid. Just sneak up on them as backup and wait for my signal. Which way are they going?' _

Ralph concentrated, and found out which way they were heading. "The northern docking ramp," he said. "And, it looks like Quinton's going to make sure they're at the far edge of the dock to make sure there's no way to escape. Hurry…"

'_I am, you get going Kid,'_ said Bill. Ralph put the communicator in his sleeve and started to run toward where the three were. He just hoped Bill would get there before he hand to intervene. He didn't want to go at this solo, because if he did and something went wrong, he could accidentally hurt Rodney or Aidan … or kill them.


	10. Chapter 10

As he was walking Rodney again adjusted his grip on Aidan, not wanting to drop her and cause her more problems. Feeling her slide forward again slightly, he quickly rehoisted her up on his shoulder, accidentally grabbing her butt.

Seeing Rodney blush, Quinton chuckled derisively. "Don't tell me you're embarrassed about that," he mocked, only to then laugh when Rodney glared at him. "Regular knight in shining armor huh? Heh, all for naught I'd say."

"There's still time to stop this," said Rodney. "We can say that you temporarily went crazy…" _which would be too far from the truth_ Rodney thought to himself.

Quinton stopped him with a jab in the back with the pistol. "Or I can do what I plan to do, which we are," he said as they continued walking. As they did, Ralph, who was still invisible, had sped over to where they were and shadowed the group. He eavesdropped on their conversation, praying Bill would get there soon before he would have to risk revealing the suit.

Not knowing help was nearby and on its way, Rodney shook his head in frustration. "You're sick you know that? I don't know where you're getting this superhero suit bit or why you claim Mr. Hinkley destroyed your family, but harming Aidan? Chloroforming her? What were you going to do after she was out - rape her?"

"I was going to do that too before I killed her, but you and her put me out of that mood," said Quinton, flinching slightly at what happened earlier. "But, she's getting what she and Mr. Hinkley deserve. She protected him…"

"So? You're avenging your dad because he's bitter about his predicament. If he did sell drugs it's his own damn fault," he said, glaring at Quinton.

"No… it's Mr. Hinkley's fault for intervening in my family's affairs," he said as they neared the end of the dock. He stepped back, leaving Rodney a few steps from the edge of the pier. "And now, it's time to pay the piper. Dump her in."

Rodney looked at the water and frowned. He was considering his choices, all of which he knew had risks. He didn't know what Quinton would do if he didn't obey, though he had a pretty good guess, and that moment both options led to their death.

Seeing the teen balk, Quinton leveled his gun at Rodney's back. "I said dump her in Rodney," he said.

"No…" Rodney said deciding to disobey Quinton. "I'm not going to put her in the harbor. And I'm not going to be your lackey and murder an innocent person."

"Dump her in, or I'll make your death slow and painful," the kidnapper threatened.

The teen lowered Aidan off his shoulder, as though to drop her in. Quinton smirked. "There you go, now just let…"

Rodney then instead picked up Aidan in his arms. He kept his back toward Quinton to act as a shield for Aidan as much as he could. "She's not the one who committed a crime. You and your dad did…" he said, angrily.

The other man growled, and aimed his gun right between Rodney's shoulders. "Yeah, and I'm about to commit one right now," said Quinton pulling back the hammer of the trigger. Rodney closed his eyes, praying that if he was going to die there, that it was quick…

A shot fired, and Rodney braced himself for the impact … but there was no hit. Confused, Rodney looked up and turned only to see the same look on Quinton's face.

Ralph, who had stopped the bullet by getting in between the two groups while they were arguing, frowned as he concentrated on staying invisible. It wasn't easy, especially since he briefly saw Aidan resting limply and defenseless in Rodney's arms, but he succeeded.

Not knowing what happened, but thankful anyway, Rodney smirked. "You know how to point that thing, but not fire it," he said. "Why don't you give up and stop this nonsense?"

Quinton growled. "Because I never miss a second time…" he said.

Seeing the vindictive teen again begin to pull back the trigger of the gun to fire at Rodney, Ralph started to come forward when he heard the sweetest words in his life - though admittedly they sounded a bit vinegary with the person's voice. "All right freeze it creep," shouted Bill as he stepped out from behind the boxes. "Bill Maxwell - FBI."

Quinton turned around and froze. "What the hell?…"

Bill, however continued. "You, Romeo… go get you and that gal you're carrying behind cover," he ordered to Rodney.

The man, though quite confused at the comments, did exactly as he was told. Quinton, however, turned his gun toward Rodney, but aimed this time for Aidan. "You move, you'll kill her," he threatened.

Ralph, now furious, concentrated on a box and using telekinesis, threw the box toward Quinton. The teen, surprised by the movement, turned his gun and fired at the box. Bill, knowing where the box came from, hollered at Rodney. "Move it - now!"

Rodney nodded ran as quickly as he could with Aidan, ducking behind some boxes. The teen gently laid Aidan on the ground to lie on her side and checked her pulse and breathing. Sighing in relief that they were still strong, Rodney then gently removed the blindfold off her eyes. He shuddered slightly when he saw the thinnest sliver of white peeking out from under her eyelids. Shaking it off, remembering she was drugged, he then started to work on freeing Aidan's bonds.

On the other side of the boxes, Bill saw Quinton jump back at seeing that he only shot at a box.

"You, drop your weapon and put your hands up," said the agent.

"Go to hell," said Quinton, running away from the man. Bill gave a second warning, and not getting a response, started shooting his gun. Quinton returned the fire, and Bill dove behind some boxes, again firing his weapon on the assailant.

Behind the boxes, Rodney heard the gunfire, and lay on top of Aidan's prone form, covering his and her heads with his hands and body to protect her. Hearing it dissipate, he continued untying the knots that secured her arms to her torso.

Ralph seeing Bill dive behind some boxes, rushed over to where his friend was, and turned visible. "Bill, you OK?" he said.

"Yeah, fine Kid, but Creep Junior is getting away," he said. "Go get him."

"I'm on it," said Ralph, and he sped ran in the direction Quinton ran - back toward the warehouse. Bill then got up from behind the boxes started to run the same direction.

Quinton was about halfway to freedom when he hit something solid and bounced off it, hitting the ground. He looked up, only to see nothing but air. "What the devil?" he said, only to see Ralph pop back in visible.

"Not quite," came back a blunt reply.

"Mr. Hinkley?" Quinton asked, then trained his pistol on Ralph, firing it. The bullet hit Ralph, but Quinton saw to his horror that the bullet bounced off the principal's chest and fell to the ground instead of the result he was expecting.

"That's impossible!" Quinton said in disbelief scooting back some in both fear and shock.

Ralph smirked at the teen "No, that's a superhero suit… just like what your dad saw," he said, walking up to the teen. He wanted to make Quinton pay for harming his goddaughter, but knew in his heart that if he did, he'd be no better than the teen was.

Quinton, however, was shaking in fear as he stood up. "What the hell?" he said, terrified at the realization of what was going on - and how similar it was to what his dad said.

"Yes… that you've got right. There is hell… to pay." Ralph said, nearing the man.

The teen backed up, only to find his way blocked by boxes. Ralph reached Quinton and grabbed the teen's shirt collar. "No one messes with my goddaughter," he growled, then tapped the teen on the chin, though slightly harder than he normally would in the suit.

Quinton's body relaxed and he fell into Ralph's arms, limp. Ralph picked Quinton up in a fireman's carry, looking for a place to store Quinton until he could be properly dealt with. While he was worried about Aidan, Ralph knew that he couldn't leave her insensible kidnapper in a place he could escape when he came to. Looking around, he spotted something and smiling, walked toward it…

"Kid, where are you?" Bill shouted, arriving at the last place he had seen Ralph. He scanned the large space again calling for his partner. Not hearing Ralph respond, he started to grow worried. He knew that Ralph had a temper and both knowing that Quinton rendered Aidan unconscious, he wasn't sure if Ralph decided to do more than capture the teen.

"C'mon, where are ya Ralph," Bill said trying again.

"I'm right here Bill," said a ghostly voice behind him. Bill turned around, only to jump when he saw Ralph pop back in, visible.

Bill grumbled, embarrassed that now, even 15 years later, he still would jump when Ralph would pop in and out visible. "Kid, I've told ya ta…" he said, then paused. "Wait, where's Creep Junior? Don't tell me he managed to…"

"No, I got him," said Ralph, smiling.

"Uh, ya got him huh? Then where is he?"

Ralph shrugged "Oh he's taking a little swim cooling off " he said, starting to walk over to where he placed the kidnapper.

Bill looked at his friend confused and followed Ralph over to the edge of the pier. Once they reached the edge, Ralph chuckled pointing toward the water. Bill gave him another look then looked over the edge, and then started to laugh at the site. His teammate had tied the teen, who was starting to come around, to a chain and secured it around a pole that supported the pier.

Quinton opened his eyes and looked around, feeling water lapping under his feet as he was suspended over the water. "Hey get me out of here," he squirmed, trying to get free.

"Well, well lookie here, we've got the shark becoming fish food," Bill smiled, then grew serious looking back at Ralph. "Ya didn't tie him up with something I can't get him out of did ya?" he said, making a face and looking at all that Ralph could've used as bindings in the suit.

"No, rope. The rope's just threaded through the hook too," Ralph answered looking over the edge giving Quinton a small wave then ran a hand through his hair looking back at Bill.

"Good…"

"Though I will admit it was tempting to use an anchor and tie him up," the younger man said with a bit more sincerity for the agent's liking. Seeing Bill glare at him, Ralph shrugged. "Well… he did call me the devil and did try to kill Aidan…"

At the mention of her name, Ralph remembered his goddaughter's condition and started to leave. "Oh no, Aidan."

Seeing Ralph panic for the second time that day, Bill put a hand on Ralph's chest before he went over to where the teens were. "Uh, Kid you better change into your normal clothes," said Bill simply.

"What?" said Ralph, more concerned about Aidan than anything else.

"Ralph, I don't think you want to explain to your goddaughter why you are wearing the long johns," the agent said, pointing to the suit. Ralph looked down and blushed, remembering that she didn't know about the suit. Seeing Ralph make the correlation, Bill continued. "Now your clothes are in the car and Buoy Bob there ain't going anywhere, so I will go check on Aidan until ya get there."

Ralph nodded and ran off to the car to change into his clothes. He was thankful for two things: one he could change into his clothes quickly thanks to the suit's super speed, and secondly, the more important one, Aidan was safe thanks to it, Bill and most of all Rodney for being steadfast in the face of danger.


	11. Chapter 11

About 15 minutes later, Aidan was sitting on the edge of the foot rail of the ambulance, grumbling when the paramedics again took her blood pressure. So far, she had answered their questions to the letter, but they wanted to be sure she was all right and kept asking her the same questions and running the same checks. By this point she had it all memorized.

Rodney smiled, hearing Aidan complain and glanced over at the ambulance and the frustrated teen as he finished giving his statement to the agents. When the agents said he was free to go, he then walked over to where Ralph stood, making sure that Aidan was all right. The agents then turned their focus on Lisa, who had been rescued from storage room and was fine, and started taking down her statement before they would take her back to the school for the game.

Ralph chuckled as he watched the banter as the young woman kept telling the paramedics that she felt fine and that there was nothing wrong with her - even if she did want to have a pepperoni, mushroom and jalapeño pizza at the moment. Seeing Aidan roll her eyes slightly in frustration, Ralph chuckled. "It's OK Ade, it's won't be much longer," he said.

"Ralph, that's what I wish. Can you tell them that I actually eat pizza with those toppings on a regular basis? These guys keep insisting that because I like that, I am suffering from side effects of the chloroform or that I'm pregnant."

The paramedics looked at Ralph, shrugging their shoulders. "That's a normal craving for her, trust me," he explained. The men nodded, and then turned their attention back to her.

"Well, Miss Hinkley, you seem to be all right, but the doctor said he'd like for you to come in for an exam tonight," said one of the medics.

"Tonight?" Aidan groaned "I'm fine. The game's in a little while, I can't go missing out on being the mascot at homecoming because of some jackass…" she said adamantly.

"That might be what you want, but you need to go to the hospital instead," said the paramedics.

"Then I refuse treatment," the young woman said, crossing her arms.

"I'm sorry," The other paramedic said shaking his head, "but unless you're old enough to do that, which I doubt, you'll have to go."

Seeing Aidan run a hand through her hair and grab it to make a ponytail, Ralph knew she was about to get mad enough to really start arguing with the medics and raised a hand. "She's old enough to refuse treatment - she's 18. And if that's doesn't convince you, as her guardian, I will consent to her request," he said. Seeing the medics open their mouths to try and sway Ralph otherwise, he shook his head as he turned to his goddaughter. "There is one stipulation to it though that you have to agree on Ade…"

"What's that Ralph?" asked Aidan, in a way enjoying Ralph's turn at being a negotiator.

"Well, you have to agree that if you feel the least bit woozy during the game, you tell me and we go to the doctor immediately."

Aidan nodded several times in agreement. "Yes, I will accept those terms, and since this is homecoming, I'm not doing nearly as much as I normally do - mostly because I'm supposedly the opponent's prisoner until the half. I'm sure the coach will understand me not doing any stunts tonight. Sure, it'll be hard for me not to, but if it's either that or not being part of the game, I'll do that."

The paramedics, seeing that there was no way to convince either Hinkley, nodded and made Aidan sign a treatment refusal form.

As the paramedics started gathering their equipment, Bill arrived on the scene with Quinton. The teen was in handcuffs, and furious about the predicament he was in. He glared at Ralph and Aidan, knowing that if he said anything about the suit he could join his dad in the insane asylum - at the very least.

Bill, however, chortled as he walked with the man toward where Aidan, Ralph and Rodney were. "Well, lookie what washed up onto the docks boys and girls - one piece of flotsam," said the agent. "Says here he only kidnapped the three of them as part of the prank, but for real and that he did not assault Aidan. He claims it was Rodney here instead."

"You kidnapped us for real," The young man growled as he walked toward Quinton, fist clenched. "You're lying. I wouldn't harm her you son of a…" he said, only to be restrained by Ralph. "Cool it Rodney, you can't do that. If you swing out at him, your testimony won't be credible," said Ralph.

Rodney, seeing Quinton smirk but realizing Ralph had a point, dropped his hand.

Bill , however shook his head. "Well, it does prove that he did kidnap the three for real, but not that he assaulted Aidan here and tried to harm her. So, question is Ade… is he the one who drugged ya?" he asked.

The agent of course knew that Quinton was the real kidnapper, but because of how he knew, and he couldn't reveal the suit or Ralph, he needed Aidan to ID Quinton as the kidnapper.

Aidan looked at Quinton and frowned, scared when she noticed she was not 100 percent sure. She had been blindfolded from the start, including when she was drugged, and had to admit that the person's voice didn't sound like Quinton when she was kidnapped during the prank. On the other side, Quinton smirked, realizing that she was confused enough from the prank and real kidnapping, that she wouldn't be able to identify him.

Ralph looked at Aidan and frowned, wondering why she wasn't identifying him easily. "Ade? Are you all right? Is he the one who assaulted you?" he said gently.

"I'm not sure, I was blindfolded and I'll admit being doped has muddled my thinking just slightly…" she said, then looked at Bill. "Have him speak."

Seeing Quinton pale, the agent nodded. "All right ya heard her… speak," he barked. Seeing the man remain defiant, Bill glared. "C'mon, you're already facing three counts of kidnapping, ya don't wanna add disobeying an agent do ya?"

All three looked at Quinton and frowned when he wouldn't respond. Seeing the challenge, Aidan decided to throw her figurative gauntlet down as well. "I see… afraid to speak because he's guilty and he knows it. But then again, probably the only time he gets to talk a lot is when he's drugging a woman," she growled. "Some ladies' man - more like some dope with how he handles them."

"I'm no more a dope than you are a spoiled brat goddaughter of a principal's," said Quinton, his arrogance showing in his voice, believing that Aidan wouldn't remember him.

Aidan turned to Bill and nodded. "It's him. I wouldn't forget a voice like his… bastard," she said, only to get a gentle bop on the head from Ralph. "Hey, what did you do that…"

"Aidan Micah, you know better than to call someone that," he said, though he had to admit he could think of a lot more choice words to call the criminal himself.

"Sorry Ralph, but he was one," she said, reaching for his hand. Ralph and Rodney, seeing she wanted to stand up, grabbed her hands. Aidan stood up, only to feel weird, as though her mouth was a bit more watery and acrid. She swallowed hard, then felt a bit warm and started to sweat a little.

Ralph and Rodney turned to Aidan and frowned when they saw she was slightly ashen and clammy. "Aidan… do you think you're going to faint?" said Ralph, only to worry more when she didn't answer.

Rodney also frowned. "Aidan… c'mon, you're scaring me here too," he said, only to feel the woman stagger slightly.

Both men, coming to the conclusion that Aidan was in pre-passing out stages, re-adjusted their grasp slightly to where their arms were resting under hers. That way if she fainted they would catch her under her arms...

Instead, Aidan doubled over slightly and threw up, hitting Quinton and the floor. "Terrific," said Ralph embarrassed as he had Rodney help move her over to a nearby trash can. Aidan threw up a couple of more times until her stomach was emptied, but still went through dry heaves afterward. Once the young woman finally finished, Ralph helped her sit in a chair and Rodney went over to see if he could get a wet washcloth to help clean Aidan up.

Quinton looked down at his pants legs and make a gagging sound. "Gross. This is cruel and unusual punishment," he said in disgust, turning to Bill. "She just assaulted me."

Bill , though he had to admit he was a bit disgusted with what happened, knew it was beyond Aidan's control. He also had to admit to himself the teen got what he deserved for drugging Aidan. "Sorry pal, but I can't arrest her for breaking the laws of nature," he said, smirking slightly.

Rodney rushed back over with a couple of damp washcloth for Aidan, giving one to Ralph to help her out. "Here you go Ade. Rub this over your face, and you'll feel better," he said.

The paramedics hearing the noise, rushed over to where Aidan was, concerned. "How are you feeling?" said one of the medics.

Aidan glowered, realizing they were trying to use her being sick as a reason to get her to go to the doctor. "I'm fine… I just puked that's all," she said, then looked at Ralph. "I'm not going to the hospital."

The paramedics looked at Ralph, wanting him to overturn her choice. "I'm sorry guys, but I think the only way you'll get her to agree is if she is unconscious," he said, only to get a slight glare from his goddaughter. He shrugged, but even he knew that was the truth. "Ade, that's the law you know that: You go out, they can automatically take care of you. "

Seeing Aidan reluctantly agree, Ralph then turned back to the paramedics. "But, this is her last homecoming before graduation, and if she says she feels fine and follows my rules, I won't overrule her."

Bill also walked with his captive to where the group was. Looking at Quinton, Ralph put a hand up, signaling to Bill that if Aidan smelled Quinton she might start throwing up again.

The agent decided to help Aidan out and stayed back. "Yeah… she's fine, just an upset stomach is all. Anyone would throw up on a creep who tried to…" seeing Ralph shake his head no, as he hadn't told Aidan what nearly happened, Bill changed his talk slightly. "Attack her like he did, would. Is she going to be OK Ralph?"

"She'll be fine," said Ralph, putting a gentle and protective hand on Aidan's shoulder.

The agent, realizing that Quinton was really starting to smell bad, looked around and found something to clean up the man. "Good. I'm going to go hose down Mr. Barf here and take him Downtown," he said, dragging the man to the water hose he found.

Though surprised at the choice of words, Ralph chuckled slightly when he heard Bill's comment about Quinton then turned to his goddaughter. "You feeling better sweetheart…" he said as he put the damp washcloth on the back of her neck, only to see Aidan now start to cry. "Ade, what's wrong?," said Ralph, giving her a hug. "You're safe… he won't harm you anymore."

"It's not that," she replied, crying. "Ralph, don't put me in detention for hitting someone from Burtonville."

The man looked at her, confused. "What do you mean…" he said, then it dawned on him what she meant. Aidan was afraid she violated the no fighting rule that Whitney High had, which also had a stipulation for doubling the penalties for breaking the rule during rival week.

He chuckled softly, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I'm not going to put you in detention for throwing up on Quinton."

"But I hit him when I threw up…"

He put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. "Ade, you were chloroformed sweetheart, and add to that he was the one who drugged you, I'd say he got his comeuppance from you."

"OK, but it's not just that …" she said, looking up at Rodney.

The teen, seeing that Aidan was also embarrassed for what happened in front of him, also put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey… Aidan, there's nothing to be embarrassed about. Chloroform's pretty nasty stuff, and can make you sick to your stomach. That's why they stopped using it as an anesthetic. Besides, I have to admit it was funny to see Quinton's face when you first threw up then when he heard Agent Maxwell wouldn't arrest you for doing it," he said, chuckling at the memory. "Now, if you'll stop being embarrassed I'll buy you a Sprite for your stomach. Deal?"

Aidan , seeing Rodney was sincere in what he said, smiled. "OK, deal. So, what now?" she asked.

Ralph looked at his watch, and realized there was about an hour before the game. "Well, first off I need to call Mr. Henderson to tell him what happened and that Rodney and Lisa were victims in all this so they don't get punished. Then, we're going to get you something to settle your stomach and we're going to a game."

Aidan smiled slightly. "It will be fun, but I hate the fact I'm going to have to tell the cheerleaders we can't do that one stunt we've been practicing all season - that basket toss with the double flip," she said, disappointed.

"Well… at least you get to be a part of the game," said Ralph, then quirked an eyebrow. "That is, unless you want to go view the blank white walls and cheap paintings in the emergency room?"

Aidan put a hand up in surrender. "Oh no that's alright, we can wait to have me flipping in the air for another day," she said, grabbing both men's hands as the group stood up laughing.

She noticed that Rodney had a firm grip, and squeezed her hand gently like he did earlier that afternoon. Looking at his face, she could tell that the man, like Ralph, was not going to let anyone harm her. "So, Rodney, how do you know so much about the side effects of chloroform," she asked, a bit curious to know the man more.

"Well, I first found out about the use of it in books, such as mystery books, but then as I got older, I studied it in science for a report in class," he said. "At least my knowledge of the stuff and some of my first aid skills I've learned helped out here."

"First aid skills?… Wait, you're also a lifeguard too aren't you?" she said, remembering something about the young man.

"Well, only during the summer, but yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Do you remember this past season when there was a drill where someone ended up having a seizure and fell into the water?"

"Yeah, that one was scary because the gal looked real and… that was you?" he said.

"Well, I had to wear a wig, but … it was, only because your boss knew I could act and make it really appear as though I was a victim and not just going through a drill," she said. "He chose me because he had seen me in a play and…"

"You're also in theater?" he asked and Aidan nodded. Ralph, hearing the banter, could only chuckle as the three headed toward the car to head back to the high school. While he knew that they'd have to make a stop to get Aidan a Sprite, he was glad that his goddaughter was safe from harm. 'Now,' he thought with a smile at the joke, 'boys might be another problem, but if she dates someone like Rodney, I know she's in safe hands.'


	12. Chapter 12

"Touchdown Cavaliers!" said the announcer's voice over the press box speaker, only to be dwarfed by the roar of the crowd in the stands. The Whitney High School football team celebrated but quickly settled down so they could make the field goal.

Fans on both sides were watching anxiously to see what would happen. The announcer, a long time Whitney High announcer, narrated the game. "And the kick is up… the field goal is good and with a minute and a half left to go in the first half, our score is now tied at 14 all."

Aidan was standing in her little "prison" square on Burtonville's side of the stadium, but still cheered on her team. Some of the opponent's fans, however, were not impressed, particularly two teens. "Sit down. You're our prisoner," said the taller of the men. He then looked up in the stands where several of his friends were. They all were getting tired of seeing the young woman have fun instead of sitting pretty.

"Yes, until half and I can cheer on the team. I've seen your panther do the same thing… in fact, it looks like he's still on a tirade from that interception," she said honestly and in character.

The younger man, unscrewing a cap to his bright red soda, was not impressed. "Well… you are still our prisoner, so you behave like one."

"A prisoner has fight doesn't he?" said the Cavalier, not knowing what the teen had in mind.

"Yes… but since you act more like a wench instead of a Cavalier and won't listen, you'll be punished like one," he said, starting to tip over the soda bottle over the prisoner's head…

He was stopped when a firm - and masculine hand - grabbed the bottle and tilted it back up. "Listen, if I were you… I'd apologize to our guest," said Rodney grimly, who gave a slight glance to security.

"Why, what are ya going to do about it huh?" said the younger man, who was now clenching his hand into a fist to punch both Rodney and Aidan.

Rodney , not noticing the fist, looked at Aidan, at a loss for a counter. She winked slightly behind her eye mask, putting a hand to her hip.

Remembering part of Whitney High's mascot costume, Rodney smiled. "Well… I could have our friend here pull out her trusty flintlock and hold you under arrest for assaulting the opponents mascot," he said nonchalantly as Aidan drew back her cape. The men paled, seeing that she did indeed have a flintlock in her belt.

The taller man then scoffed. "Yeah, like she really knows how to use it. I bet she can't even point that…" he said, only to stop when Aidan drew the weapon and pointed it at him, resting the barrel of the weapon on her arm in a proper manner.

"I think she does know how… that's why it took so long for us to catch her," said Rodney, who narrowed his eyes in sincerity as he noticed the others start to stand up to help their friend. "And, I don't want anyone to lay a finger on this young woman in any way, shape or form. Be sure to tell your friends in the stands real quick to not try anything either."

Seeing the glare in both Rodney's and Aidan's eyes, the two Burtonville fans paled. "Guys, don't mess around with Whitney's mascot," said the two men who then backed up. "We…we're sorry. We won't do it again."

"Glad to hear that," said Aidan, who put the flintlock back in the holster.

The teens, seeing Aidan return the weapon, then walked toward the edge of the stands again. "Ha… you think we were going to honor that?" they said, about to dump their food on Aidan only to feel hands clamp down on their shoulders.

"You will… because you've been ejected from the game. This is the second time you've been told tonight to pipe down," said the officer. "You're also getting citations for disturbing the peace, but that's lucky as I could arrest you with your antics."

"We can't leave. Our parents are…"

"Are going to be on their way, because you're going to call them to pick you up. And, if you make a further fuss, we'll be calling them to get you out of jail," said the officer, growling at the two men, then chuckled when he saw them squirm. He then turned up to where the other teens were. "And, if any of you follow through on your threat, I'll have you kicked out as well and cited - at least. Is that clear?"

The other teens in the stands nodded, but the two troublemakers remained defiant. "Well, if you're going to cite us for disturbing the peace, why don't you arrest her for what she did?"

"Easy, I won't because that is not a real weapon. Checked it myself when it was brought to the school the first year that costume was put to use," he said, then gave the teens a slight shove. "Now march."

The two teens, realizing they were not going to win this argument, only nodded in defeat and were escorted out.

Seeing what had been the only threat to Aidan during the game leave, Rodney chuckled and turned to Aidan, seeing she was out of her boundaries. "OK, back in the square Aidan," said Rodney, chuckling. "You're supposed to be our prisoner here you know."

"Yeah, but still… good play there, oh guardian of the Cavalier. But then again, you've done that all night," she said smiling. Since their arrival at the school, with the exception when she had to go to the bathroom and Lisa "kept guard," Rodney hadn't let Aidan out of his sight. Part of it was to keep up with the prank, but it was mostly to keep an eye on her health and well-being. Being a senior himself, he didn't want Aidan to pass out or get harmed and end up missing the rest of the game because she was in the emergency room.

He smiled slightly at the memory of the talk Ralph had between the two of them, making sure that Aidan adhered to the promise he told the paramedics as well as told Rodney to alert him if anything happened to Aidan that required medical attention. Rodney could tell that Ralph, like Aidan's godmother Pam, cared deeply about the young teen. Rodney did as well, and made sure that throughout the evening he did anything he could to make her happy…

"You OK Rodney?" said Aidan as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Kinda zoned out there and missed a great play."

"Burtonville or Whitney?"

"Both actually… how I'll never figure out," said Aidan chuckling. "It's about 45 seconds before the half though…"

Rodney chuckled. "You want to be away from this side that fast huh," he said partially in jest.

"Oh yeah," Aidan said, out of the corner of her eye she saw Rodney frown, and she amended her statement some "Well far away from those two bundles of love with the soda anyway."

"And their little family of fried pies," he said, chuckling.

"Yes," she said, then smiled looked at the teen. "But, I don't want to be away from everything."

"I see… uh…." said Rodney, stammering some. Seeing Aidan's steel blue eyes brighten slightly under the wide brim black hat that was fastened at one side with a pin and large blue ostrich feather as well as the blue fabric eye mask, he smiled. "Well… Ade, do you need some more soda or a cookie before you go out to the field?"

"No I'm fine. Two diet 7Ups and three snickerdoodles during the game is plenty for right now," she said, chuckling and not missing the man's caring tone. "But, I wouldn't mind you being my escort to the field for the handoff - though I think that was part of the plan anyway huh?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah… it was, even before everything that happened tonight."

"That's good, because if it were Lisa, I'd say 'hey, Rodney here saved my life, so he deserves the honor,'" she said, and seeing him blush, she continued. "I mean that… you stood up and fought for me. I know that we're rivals as far as school, but today, you were both a panther and Cavalier. And for that I'll always be grateful."

With that, Aidan leaned over giving Rodney a kiss on the cheek. Rodney opened his mouth to say something, when he heard the buzzer go off. Looking at the scoreboard, he saw that it was halftime.

"I… uh…" he stammered and looked at Aidan, and her costume. He had to admit she looked great in the outfit, which included a long sleeve shirt with puffy sleeves and a dark blue velour vest with gold trim. There was a black belt with a large gold buckle that fastened right around her waist, complete with the flintlock, and to finish off the costume, she wore dark blue pants, black boots, the mask, cape and the hat. And, per both school's approval for the game, she wore her blue and gold homecoming mum on her left arm.

"She looks terrific, a regular angel in blue." he thought, only to hear Aidan giggle.

Rodney shook the thoughts out of his head. "What did you say Ade?"

Aidan giggled again. "I said I think that was our cue." Rodney cleared his thought looking at the scoreboard again. "Oh yeah," he chuckled then held his arm out for Aidan to hold "Well, it's show time," he said with a smile and started to head off.

"Hold on… now who's rushing things," she said. Seeing Rodney's look of confusion, she smiled. "Well, your school's band is playing their show first then the skit remember?"

"Oh, yeah…" said Rodney, not missing the lilting tone in her voice. She was enjoying not only the halftime show and the skit ahead, but his company. The feeling he got seeing her look at him again and smile made him feel more at ease. He had enjoyed the first half, not only making sure Aidan was safe as far as being the Cavalier, but also getting to know Aidan better.


	13. Chapter 13

About an hour and a half later, Ralph, Pam, Aidan and Bill were walking to the car to head home for the after-game party.

The group was chatting and laughing about the game and everything that happened at halftime. "Aidan, I can't believe that you snuck in that trip on the panther…" said Bill, chuckling. "Surprised ya didn't try to flip him."

"Bill, that's not funny," said Ralph seriously, then chuckled. "Then again, it was funny considering he tried pinching Ade…"

Pam gave his head a playful swat. "You two… what kind of example are you setting for Aidan," she said, then smiled. "I think it would've been funnier if she kicked him in the rear as they passed each other."

Aidan laughed at the group. "All right, it might not have been the best idea, but a. I stayed in character, and b. he did actually pinch me," she said, then took a drink of her bottle of Powerade.

Seeing Aidan was slightly pale, Ralph then grew serious. "So, how are you feeling sweetheart? It's been a long day and…"

"I'm fine, and am up for a little partying," she said, smiling. "Afterall, it's not every day Whitney High School pulls a showstopper like this game. I mean… Whitney 29 - Burtonville 28..."

"Yeah, I was so afraid the guy was gonna make that two point conversion and win it for those lousy panthers," said Bill as he adjusted his Whitney High School cap. He had been a fan of the team since he was dragged to a game the first year he and Ralph were teamed together courtesy of a couple of green guys. Since then, he never missed seeing the team play, win, lose or draw. "Heard they even wanted to dirty up our favorite Cavalier's duds with soda pop."

Ralph and Pam looked at Aidan, quirking an eyebrow. "Don't know how he knew, unless Sgt. Nathaniel talked to Bill," Aidan said, shrugging. "But, there were a couple of students who did try to do that on the opponents side. But, before anything happened, Rodney was there and along with the sergeant, got the guys removed."

Pam smiled. "Good… they got off lucky in my opinion given the day you've had," she said, remembering what Ralph had told her about Aidan's real abduction.

"Yeah … but given the choice, I'd rather have had the soda on me," she said as she kept walking. Aidan had been thinking about the whole event, trying to work out things that were said during the day. While she was grateful for Bill catching the bad guy, she felt as there was something missing to the puzzle.

Ralph, noticing her deep in thought stopped and put a hand on her shoulder. "OK, I know that look. What's on your mind sweetheart?"

Aidan looked at Ralph, not sure she wanted to ask. Seeing him narrow his eyes in concern, she took a calming breath before she spoke. "Ralph, just before Quinton knocked me out, he mentioned something about a red superhero suit you wore and to catch his dad…"

"Superhero suit?" he said, feigning confusion.

"Yeah… he said that he kidnapped me as payback for your capturing his dad in some crime, and that you wore that type of outfit. I told him you didn't have one, but he wouldn't listen to me. But… why would he say that in the first place?"

The man paused, trying to figure out what to say. Bill, however answered instead, hoping to keep the suit a secret. "Well… his old man was upset that he got caught for drug runnin' and diamond theft. My guess is he told his little twerp about me, and ta do some searchin' on me," he said.

Aidan quirked an eyebrow, confused. "OK, but you're an agent, Ralph's a principal, so where's the link?"

Ralph and Pam looked at Bill, hoping he'd be able to explain this one, as they didn't want her to be in the know about the suit for her safety.

Picking up on their hint to try and explain away this event Bill sighed and answered. "Well Accordin' to Sid, the twerp found me chattin' with Ralph one day and heard Ralph call me uncle, but probably thought it was code for teammate," said Bill. "Later, he musta heard us chattin' about ya bein' mascot and then found a way ta get ya and try to hurt Ralph and me."

Aidan tilted her head, still doubtful. "OK, but what does that have to do with Ralph wearing a red superhero suit," she asked.

"Well… uh…"

Ralph put a hand up, feigning concern and decided to help Bill out. "I don't know Aidan, but if he was demented enough to kidnap you for real, he would be demented enough to think that I caught his dad committing a crime - and in a superhero suit nonetheless," he said simply. Seeing Aidan's confused look, he continued. "Ade, you did a great job as mascot at the game tonight, but even I can tell you're still just a smidge woozy from being chloroformed. I wouldn't worry about it anymore - Quinton's caught, and you're safe."

There was a long pause as Aidan thought, making the trio worry that she was going to still ask for specifics. "Yeah, you're right," she said, much to Ralph and Bill's relief. She then looked around. "But I will say one thing, there was one plus. Like with the teens and the soda, when I was in danger, Rodney protected me from Quinton harming me…"

"Well, what are friends for?" said a new voice. Turning, the group saw Rodney heading over to the group. During the second half of the game, he still kept watching Whitney's sidelines to see what Aidan was up to, not just to make sure she still was all right, but just enjoy seeing her have fun at the game. Toward the end, he decided he would finally do what he had been wanting to do - he was going to ask her out.

"Rodney, hi…" said Aidan, looking at the man, smiling. "How are you?"

"Uh fine, I … uh," he said, stammering slightly. "And you?"

"Doing as well as I can," she said.

The man blushed slightly, trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to. "Uh, that's good… so…"

"Uh, yeah, so…" said Aidan too, chuckling at the man's reaction to her.

Ralph and Pam chuckled at hearing Rodney and Aidan try to say they like each other, but fail miserably. Despite everything they went though, to Ralph and Pam it looked like the teens were meant for each other, just had trouble expressing it.

Bill , however, seeing the two teens still hemming and hawing, shook his head. "Well, I'd love ta stay here and listen to Romeo and Juliet, but I'm starving here..."

Pam gave Bill a slight kick to his shin. The agent turned to glare at Pam, but seeing her stare back at him with angry dark grey eyes, realized that she was not happy with his remarks about the young couple's timidity.

Ralph , seeing the two's banter, chuckled and stepped in. "Rodney, we're hosting a party tonight at our house. Would you like to join us?"

Rodney smiled. "Well… uh, I don't know, being from Burtonville and all…"

The older man shook his head. "Don't worry, if they bother you because of that, I'll see to it they get thrown out," he said. "Plus, Bill will be there, and since most of the teens know his job, I don't think they'll bother you anyway.

The teen blushed, still uncertain. Even with everything he did that day with helping save Aidan's and Lisa's lives, and despite the offer, he wasn't sure at first. Seeing Aidan's smile, he then decided to accept and nodded. "Uh yeah sure.. I mean if that is alright with Ade and all," he said.

Bill rolled his eyes, tired of this drivel. "'Course it's fine with her. Now wouldja get goin'…" he said, only to get a slight kick in the shin by Ralph. The agent glared at Ralph, but seeing the look in the man's eyes and had the suit on under his clothes, decided to step back. This time, he realized, he wasn't in charge. "Uh, what I meant was… Is it all right with you Aidan?" he said.

Aidan laughed. "Yeah, it's fine… we're going to have pizza and games, so it'll be fun," she said.

Rodney, realizing that she said yes, laughed. "OK, great," he said enthusiastically, swinging his arms up only to feel a slight thud.

Turning, he noticed he just hit Bill in the chin. "Oh, I'm sorry Agent Maxwell," he said, moving to help, but only succeeding in stepping on the agent's toes.

Bill grunted in pain, trying to hold back the urge to yell at the teen. After a few moments, he regained his composure. "It's... fine Jameston. Why don't ya just try and knock me out and be done with assaultin' a federal agent."

Seeing Rodney pale, Aidan stepped next to the man, and grabbed his arm. "Don't worry, he's only joking… I think," she said, hoping she was right.

Ralph, however, chuckled at the accident. "He is Ade. C'mon Bill it's not like he broke your hand," he said truthfully.

The agent looked at Ralph, and seeing he had a point, sighed. He also remembered being young and falling head over heels for someone as well, and could clearly see that in Rodney. "Yeah…" he muttered, then turned to Rodney. "All right, you're in the clear... for now. Just don't be messing with Ralph's little girl if ya know what's good for ya."

Rodney chuckled. "Yes sir…" he said, only to hear Aidan laugh as well.

Bill, seeing that he had the man's promise, smiled. "All right. Now, boys and girls now that that's settled, why don't we go to Ralph's house so we can get some pizza before the cheerleaders eat all of it?" he said as he started to head off toward the car. "Still can't believe how much pizza those dames can eat…"

"Bill…" said Pam, shocked the man would say such a thing and followed.

"Now Counselor, I'm only saying what I remember last time ya hosted a party there. That one dame ate four pieces of pizza… and it was the one I wanted too - that one with the green stuff for sauce..." he said as the two trailed off.

"Green stuff?" said Rodney, confused.

Aidan, realizing Rodney didn't know a lot about Bill, explained. "Pesto. There was a pesto pizza there as well, and since Bill doesn't like tomatoes, he wanted to eat that one," she said, chuckling. "Why he doesn't like tomatoes I'll never know."

"Must've seen one too many reruns of 'Attack of the Killer Tomatoes,'" said Rodney, laughing.

Ralph shook his head, hearing Pam and Bill continue arguing about the issue. "Kudos if you ever figure it out you two. I've known him for 15 years and still don't know why he doesn't like tomatoes but likes dog biscuits," he said, then gave Aidan a kiss on the cheek. "Listen, I'm going to go try and break up the argument Pam and Bill are having. See you in a couple of minutes."

"OK Ralph. I'll be there shortly," she said as Ralph rushed off.

Rodney blinked, realizing what Ralph said. "Dog biscuits?" he said.

"Don't know, and don't want to know. Tried one myself by mistake, and they're gross," said Aidan.

"Oh," said the teen, then offered his arm to Aidan. "So, may I escort you to your car?"

"Well… I'm riding with Ralph and Pam because they don't want me driving after everything today, but, yes, you may," she said, taking the proffered arm. Rodney smiled and the two headed toward the car, following Ralph, Pam and Bill. "So, what do you like on your pizza?" she said.

"I like just about everything on a pizza, even anchovies, but never have had the pesto pizza."

"It's good, trust me. I'm surprised though that Bill didn't realize there was actually sundried tomatoes on the pizza as well," she said, chuckling. "But, I bet he thinks they're bell peppers or something."

"That's wild…I'll have to try it. So…" said Rodney as the two walked. As they were walking, the two looked at each other and smiled, realizing that after a day like that homecoming was, it would be nice to get to know each other, and that this could be the start of a life-long friendship, possibly more.


	14. Chapter 14

As Aidan and Rodney headed for the car, Ralph caught up with Pam and Bill, who were indeed arguing. Ralph gave a sharp whistle, stopping the two in mid-debate. "I have to admit I like debating about how much a bunch of cheerleaders and mascot can eat after a game, but Bill… since I know part of this is because of the last party, we got more than one pizza that has no tomatoes."

Bill smiled. "That's great… what about those fishes?"

"No anchovies," said Pam, rolling her eyes when she saw Bill frown in disappointment. "But, if you miss them, you can top your pizza with dog biscuits."

The agent opened his mouth to speak, only to hear Ralph and Pam both chuckle. "Yeah… but I bet even there it's better than what that Quinton fella will be eating tonight for what he did."

"Speaking of what happened, what are they going to do with Quinton?" said Pam.

"Well, let's just say between kidnapping times three, assault, assault with a deadly weapon… he'll be having some nice one-on-one time with his dad for a very long time behind bars."

Ralph smiled. "Good… hopefully his near swim with the fishes will make him realize that you don't harm people in revenge."

"Best way ta say it, revenge is best served fried with chips," said Bill, only to see the other two look at him oddly. "OK, maybe not… So, how is Aidan doin'? Not seasick again is she?"

"No, she's doing OK Bill." He said. Seeing Bill quirk an eyebrow, Ralph realized that the agent didn't quite believe him. "All right, I will admit she might have a nightmare or two tonight, but we'll be there just in case. Point is, she's alive, well and with us. That's what matters most."

Hearing Aidan laugh, the three turned to look at Aidan and Rodney as they chatted and walked toward where they were. "You did a good job Kid," he said smiling at the two teens.

Seeing Ralph look at him, surprised, Bill stammered. "Well…. What I mean is she's one tough cookie, a real… surfer girl," he said.

"Surfer girl?" said Ralph and Pam, both knowing she wasn't much of a surfer.

"Uh, I mean… tiger lily… no that doesn't - " he said, trying to think of something to say about Aidan that didn't sound odd.

Ralph, chuckling, put a hand on Bill's shoulder. "Coming from you Bill I'll take that as a compliment," he said just as Aidan and Rodney arrived. The group got into the car and drove off, letting the troubles of the day fade away as the lights to the stadium started to turn off.


End file.
